An Amazon data center in Loudon County in northern Virginia. (Google Street View)
Federal prosecutors are dropping two potential criminal cases related to allegations that Denver-based Northstar Commercial Partners and owner Brian Watson paid kickbacks in order to secure Amazon data center development deals in that state.
The decisions affect former Northstar executive Will Camenson and Jason Fogle, who previous media coverage shows worked in real estate for Amazon.
Amazon has alleged in a long-running civil lawsuit, scheduled to go to trial in October, that Watson and Northstar paid millions to then-Amazon employees Carl Nelson and Casey Kirschner in order to land the development deals in northern Virginia. The parties have denied wrongdoing.
Amazon’s claims have also been investigated by federal law enforcement.
Brian Watson
On March 7, two men linked to Northstar — former executive Kyle Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner, the brother of Casey Kirschner and a longtime friend of Watson — pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the arrangement.
At the time of their guilty pleas, online federal court dockets showed separate upcoming “plea agreement hearings” for Camenson and Fogle, suggesting the two would also be pleading guilty to a charge or charges of some sort.
But Fogle’s hearing, originally scheduled for April 5, was repeatedly pushed back — to April 12, then May 3, then July 5, records show.
In late June, the nature of the pending court appearance was changed to a “status conference.” That’s what finally took place on Wednesday, where a judge dismissed the matter at the request of prosecutors.
The same thing happened with Camenson’s docket, although his status conference is scheduled for July 26.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office today represented to the court that we will not move forward with Mr. Fogle or Mr. Camenson’s pre-indictment pleas at this time,” Karoline Foote, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told BusinessDen in a statement.
No criminal charge was ever formally entered against Fogle and Camenson and it’s not clear what charges were being considered.
On the civil side, one major thing happened between the March guilty pleas and Wednesday’s dismissals. On April 6, a judge significantly narrowed the scope of Amazon’s lawsuit against Watson, Nelson and Casey Kirschner, rejecting the bulk of the company’s claims.
The upcoming October trial will revolve around the two civil claims the judge allowed to move forward. Watson, Nelson and Casey Kirschner have not been criminally charged.
Camenson’s connection to the actions that Amazon finds objectionable is clear. He is a defendant, through an LLC, in the civil lawsuit and his name is mentioned 25 times. In addition to working for Northstar, Camenson and Ramstetter also on their own purchased a northern Virginia property for $98.7 million in 2019 and resold it to Amazon for $116.4 million the same day, records show. Amazon said they paid kickbacks on the profits.
Fogle’s connection is less clear, beyond that he worked at Amazon and has been named as a possible witness in the upcoming trial. He is not a defendant or even mentioned by name in the civil lawsuit.
The guilty pleas previously entered by Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner remain in place. They are scheduled to be sentenced in March 2024. That’s also been pushed back; sentencing was originally scheduled for September.
A lawyer representing Fogle declined to comment. Amazon and lawyers representing Camenson didn’t respond to separate requests for comment.
An Amazon data center in Loudon County in northern Virginia. (Google Street View)
Federal prosecutors are dropping two potential criminal cases related to allegations that Denver-based Northstar Commercial Partners and owner Brian Watson paid kickbacks in order to secure Amazon data center development deals in that state.
The decisions affect former Northstar executive Will Camenson and Jason Fogle, who previous media coverage shows worked in real estate for Amazon.
Amazon has alleged in a long-running civil lawsuit, scheduled to go to trial in October, that Watson and Northstar paid millions to then-Amazon employees Carl Nelson and Casey Kirschner in order to land the development deals in northern Virginia. The parties have denied wrongdoing.
Amazon’s claims have also been investigated by federal law enforcement.
Brian Watson
On March 7, two men linked to Northstar — former executive Kyle Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner, the brother of Casey Kirschner and a longtime friend of Watson — pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the arrangement.
At the time of their guilty pleas, online federal court dockets showed separate upcoming “plea agreement hearings” for Camenson and Fogle, suggesting the two would also be pleading guilty to a charge or charges of some sort.
But Fogle’s hearing, originally scheduled for April 5, was repeatedly pushed back — to April 12, then May 3, then July 5, records show.
In late June, the nature of the pending court appearance was changed to a “status conference.” That’s what finally took place on Wednesday, where a judge dismissed the matter at the request of prosecutors.
The same thing happened with Camenson’s docket, although his status conference is scheduled for July 26.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office today represented to the court that we will not move forward with Mr. Fogle or Mr. Camenson’s pre-indictment pleas at this time,” Karoline Foote, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told BusinessDen in a statement.
No criminal charge was ever formally entered against Fogle and Camenson and it’s not clear what charges were being considered.
On the civil side, one major thing happened between the March guilty pleas and Wednesday’s dismissals. On April 6, a judge significantly narrowed the scope of Amazon’s lawsuit against Watson, Nelson and Casey Kirschner, rejecting the bulk of the company’s claims.
The upcoming October trial will revolve around the two civil claims the judge allowed to move forward. Watson, Nelson and Casey Kirschner have not been criminally charged.
Camenson’s connection to the actions that Amazon finds objectionable is clear. He is a defendant, through an LLC, in the civil lawsuit and his name is mentioned 25 times. In addition to working for Northstar, Camenson and Ramstetter also on their own purchased a northern Virginia property for $98.7 million in 2019 and resold it to Amazon for $116.4 million the same day, records show. Amazon said they paid kickbacks on the profits.
Fogle’s connection is less clear, beyond that he worked at Amazon and has been named as a possible witness in the upcoming trial. He is not a defendant or even mentioned by name in the civil lawsuit.
The guilty pleas previously entered by Ramstetter and Christian Kirschner remain in place. They are scheduled to be sentenced in March 2024. That’s also been pushed back; sentencing was originally scheduled for September.
A lawyer representing Fogle declined to comment. Amazon and lawyers representing Camenson didn’t respond to separate requests for comment.
