Government asks judge to deny bail to Greg Harrison

The US government has asked a federal judge to deny former staffing executive Greg Harrison’s request for release on bail as he awaits sentencing in April, arguing that the defendant has not presented clear and convincing evidence that he is not a flight risk.

Laying out a case the government is likely to make during Harrison’s bail hearing in federal court tomorrow, a legal motion filed today highlights about 10 questionable trips to South Carolina while awaiting trial, evidence that surfaced in trial indicating the defendant earns $8,000 to $10,000 per month as president of a staffing licensing company and a contention that the defendant presented “false testimony and a false document” during trial.

The bail hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow in the Hiram H. Ward federal building in Winston-Salem. Harrison was convicted by a jury in December of 63 counts of obstructing the IRS, failing to pay payroll taxes and failing to pay individual income tax. The jury found that Harrison failed to pay almost $16 million, but prosecutors allege the true amount is closer to $40 million.

The government’s motion reports, “The court detained defendant Harrison and instructed the probation office to reevaluate his risk of non-appearance in light of the evidence at trial which indicated that the defendant had left the Middle District of North Carolina in ten separate trips.”

Doug Corriher, a loan officer and vice president at GrandSouth Bank, testified that Joey Medaloni, a friend, flew Harrison down to the bank headquarters in Greenville, SC several times last year in a corporate jet. Medaloni, formerly a high-profile nightclub owner in Greensboro, was facing sentencing for federal loan fraud at the time. His sentencing is scheduled for next month.

The government’s motion also reports that the court instructed the probation office to investigate Harrison’s financial status in consideration of evidence presented in trial indicating that the defendant served as president of Global Labor and was earning income through licensing contracts.

“The probation memo simply reports statements of defendant Harrison as to his finances,” the government’s motion contends. “These statements are not worthy of trust and do not rebut the evidence at trial as to his contract with Global Labor.”

The government also discounted information in the probation memo concerning the South Carolina trips, contending that Harrison’s representation that he obtained permission from his probation officer beforehand was not credible.

“At the trial of this matter defendant Harrison presented false testimony and a false document by which he claimed to have transferred operation of his staffing companies to Ray McDaniel and Mark Griffin,” the government contends. “Therefore, his statements to the probation office are not worthy of belief and should not be credited by the court.”