Naples Daily News

Posted December 12, 2010 at 3:09 p.m.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/dec/12/samir-cabreras-federal-appeal-set-march/

Oral arguments in Samir Cabrera’s federal appeal are tentatively scheduled for March 2011.

Cabrera, 34, was serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison on fraud and money-laundering charges when a beneficial decision by the U.S. Supreme Court sparked his release in September.

A jury convicted him in January 2009 of defrauding investors of their rights to his “honest services,” a concept later restructured by the high court in a June decision.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Atlanta, has proposed arguments for the week of March 28. A date and time will be made specific as attorneys for both parties weigh in.

Cabrera’s conviction stemmed from a pair of land deals in South Fort Myers in which Cabrera failed to disclose property flips that netted him and associates $2.8 million in “kicker fees.” The projects failed, and investors lost everything.

In his appeal, Cabrera is requesting his conviction be reversed. Federal prosecutors acknowledge the conviction was flawed under the Supreme Court’s new stricter definition of honest services, and they are requesting a retrial.

Cabrera was recently granted a move outside of the district after he landed a job in Miami.