Ndoromo v. Barr

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 31, 2020
DocketCivil Action No. 2019-3781
StatusPublished

This text of Ndoromo v. Barr (Ndoromo v. Barr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ndoromo v. Barr, (D.D.C. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

AKUBE WUROMONI NDOROMO, Plaintiff v. Civil Action No. 19-3781 (CKK) WILLIAM BARR, et al., Defendants

MEMORANDUM OPINION (August 31, 2020)

Pro se Plaintiff Akube Ndoromo brings this lawsuit against Defendants William Barr and

Timothy Shea requesting “restitution of his funds, and damages” totaling $1,048,357,812.17.

Compl., ECF No. 1-1. Pro se Plaintiff’s Complaint is challenging to follow; but, as the Court

reads the Complaint in conjunction with other filings, Plaintiff appears to state three claims for

relief. First, Plaintiff alleges that his assets, including bank accounts, businesses, and other

properties, were wrongfully forfeited. Second, Plaintiff contends that Defendants violated the

False Claims Act. Third, Plaintiff argues that Defendants violated 12 USC § 1817 by wrongfully

taking his property and funds. Defendants have moved for the dismissal of all of Plaintiff’s

claims. And, Plaintiff has moved for the recusal of the undersigned Judge. Upon consideration of

the pleadings,1 the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court will DENY

1 The Court’s consideration has focused on the following documents: • Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss Pl.’s Compl. (“Defs.’ Mot.”), ECF No. 6; • Pl.’s Mot. for Rcusal of Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and Defendant Never Respondent to April 10, 2020 Order by Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s (“Pl.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 9; • Defs.’ Res. to Pl.’s Mot. for Recusal (“Defs.’ Res.”), ECF No. 12; • Pl.’s Responding to Judge’s Order of April 28, 2020, Def. Continues to File Liars and False Misleading the Court and Failed to Respond to Order of April 10, 2020, also Failed to Answer the Complaint What is Missing is Initial Conference for Presentation of Facts,

1 Plaintiff’s Motion for Recusal as Plaintiff has stated no legitimate grounds for the undersigned

Judge’s recusal. The Court will further GRANT Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss as Plaintiff has

failed to state a plausible claim for which relief may be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

For the purposes of the motion before the Court, the Court accepts as true the well-pled

allegations in Plaintiff’s Complaint. The Court does “not accept as true, however, the plaintiff’s

legal conclusions or inferences that are unsupported by the facts alleged.” Ralls Corp. v. Comm.

on Foreign Inv. in the United States, 758 F.3d 296, 315 (D.C. Cir. 2014). Further, because

Plaintiff proceeds in this matter pro se, the Court must consider not only the facts alleged in

Plaintiff’s Complaint, but also the facts alleged in Plaintiff’s other filings. See Brown v. Whole

Foods Mkt. Grp., Inc., 789 F.3d 146, 152 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (“a district court errs in failing to

consider a pro se litigant’s complaint ‘in light of’ all filings, including filings responsive to a

motion to dismiss”) (quoting Richardson v. United States, 193 F.3d 545, 548 (D.C. Cir. 1999));

Fillmore v. AT & T Mobility Servs. LLC, 140 F. Supp. 3d 1, 2 (D.D.C. 2015) (“the Court, as it

must in a case brought by a pro se plaintiff, considers the facts as alleged in both the Complaint

and Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss”). The Court recites only the

background necessary for the Court’s resolution of the pending Motion to Dismiss.

Plaintiff’s allegations appear to stem from the seizure of Plaintiff’s funds and other

property which resulted from a guilty verdict in the criminal matter, United States v. James, Case

Truth, and Evidence in Black and White Under Oath for Defendant as well as for Plaintiff to Set the Trial (“Pl.’s Res.”), ECF No. 13; and • Pl. Want to Know the Status of the Case Nothing Received after last Filing of June 01, 2020, Memorandum of Points and Law Attachements for Initial Conference before Trial Process (“Pl.’s Notice”), ECF No. 15. In an exercise of its discretion, the Court finds that holding oral argument in this action would not be of assistance in rendering a decision. See LCvR 7(f). 2 No. 6-cr-19-EGS. In 2006, a federal grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging

Plaintiff with multiple counts of healthcare fraud, false statements, and money laundering.

James, Case No. 6-cr-19-EGS, ECF No. 3. The Superseding Indictment included a forfeiture

allegation. Id. at 13-15. On March 30, 2007, a jury found Plaintiff guilty of one count of

healthcare fraud, 11 counts of false statements related to healthcare matters, and eight counts of

money laundering. Id. at ECF No. 37. The jury further returned a Special Verdict, finding that

$1,856,812.71 and two vehicles represented property derived from or proceeds traceable to

Plaintiff’s criminal acts. Id. at ECF No. 41.

In 2008, Plaintiff was sentenced to 57 months of incarceration and 36 months of

supervised release and was ordered to pay $1,856,812.71 in restitution. Id. at ECF No. 117. At

sentencing, the judge indicated that the forfeiture of $1,856,812.71 and two vehicles were

included as part of Plaintiff’s sentence. Id. at ECF No. 152 at 2. Accordingly, on December 30,

2008, the court issued two final Orders of Forfeiture to that effect. Id. at ECF No. 122 (as to

funds), 123 (as to vehicles).

Following the resolution of Plaintiff’s criminal matter, the government continued its

pursuit of the forfeiture of Plaintiff’s funds and property in the civil forfeiture matter, United

States v. $455,273.72, Case No. 5-cv-356-EGS. And, in 2011, the court granted the government

summary judgment. The court explained that, because Plaintiff’s conviction in his criminal case

was based on the same facts as the civil forfeiture matter, Plaintiff’s funds and property were

subject to forfeiture as the proceeds of an unlawful activity. $455,273.72, Case No. 5-cv-356-

EGS, ECF No. 73, 12-16.

Since that time, Plaintiff has filed appeals and otherwise attacked the results of his

criminal and civil forfeiture matters. On October 10, 2018, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit very similar to

3 the one currently before the Court. Nodormo v. Sessions, 18-cv-2339(CKK). In that suit, Plaintiff

argued that his property had been improperly seized, that his guilty verdict in his criminal matter

should be overturned, and that the Government violated the False Claims Act. Ndoromo, 18-cv-

2339(CKK), Compl., ECF No. 1. On July 2, 2019, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s case, finding

that Plaintiff had failed to state any claim for which relief could be granted. Plaintiff appealed the

Court’s dismissal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

affirmed the dismissal. Ndoromo, 19-5211 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 13, 2020).

On November 18, 2019, Plaintiff filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

this lawsuit, bringing substantially the same claims as his prior lawsuit. ECF No. 1-1. Plaintiff’s

case was then removed to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia before

Judge Amy Berman Jackson. ECF No. 1. On April 10, 2020, Defendants filed a notice of related

case, and this case was ultimately reassigned to the undersigned Judge who had presided over

Plaintiff’s prior case, Nodormo v. Sessions, 18-cv-2339(CKK). Currently pending before the

Court are Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and Plaintiff’s Motion to Recuse.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint on multiple grounds. However, as the

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Roberts v. United States
141 F.3d 1468 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Emich Motors Corp. v. General Motors Corp.
340 U.S. 558 (Supreme Court, 1951)
Allen v. McCurry
449 U.S. 90 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Liteky v. United States
510 U.S. 540 (Supreme Court, 1994)
United States v. Ursery
518 U.S. 267 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Richardson, Roy Dale v. United States
193 F.3d 545 (D.C. Circuit, 1999)
United States v. Microsoft Corp.
253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Leonard Patrick
542 F.2d 381 (Seventh Circuit, 1976)
United States v. Salemme
164 F. Supp. 2d 49 (D. Massachusetts, 1998)
Lewis v. Drug Enforcement Administration
777 F. Supp. 2d 151 (District of Columbia, 2011)
Ramos v. United States Department of Justice
682 F. Supp. 2d 20 (District of Columbia, 2010)
Middlebrooks v. St. Coletta of Greater Washington, Inc.
710 F. Supp. 2d 77 (District of Columbia, 2010)
United States Ex Rel. Hood v. Satory Global, Inc.
946 F. Supp. 2d 69 (District of Columbia, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Ndoromo v. Barr, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ndoromo-v-barr-dcd-2020.