The trial of Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne, originally scheduled to begin later this month, was pushed back by four months this week because the government’s prosecutor is on bereavement leave.
The Charlemagnes were arrested in June 2024 and charged with federal crimes related to their alleged mismanagement of lumber earmarked for disaster recovery projects under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded contract. They were initially charged with government program fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Months later, prosecutors tacked on charges of making false claims upon the government and alleged that Sasha Charlemagne submitted timesheets claiming she worked eight-hour days managing the lumber — which was stored rent-free for years at the Alexander Henderson Elementary School on St. Croix — despite the fact that she wasn’t even in the territory at the time.
The V.I. Housing Finance Authority awarded the original lumber management contract to Island Services Group, whose principals Morris Anselmi and Kimberly McCollum were themselves indicted on a charge of pocketing half a million dollars in federal Paycheck Protection Program funds in March 2024. The work was then subcontracted out to the Charlemagnes’ company, D&S Trucking.
The case against the Charlemagnes has moved at a snail’s pace since their arrest because Anselmi, a key witness, has been hospitalized out of the territory. An April 2025 deposition halted abruptly amid questions about Anselmi’s immunity from prosecution in the woodpile case. In April 2026, he and McCollum signed pretrial diversion agreements and cleared the way forward for his deposition and for the Charlemagnes’ trial.
The most recent setback came last week, when Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise George told the court that the recent and unexpected death of her father “required substantial attention during what would have been the critical period for pretrial preparation.”
“The Government does not have fully prepared cocounsel available to step in,” according to the government’s motion to continue, which added that Cherrisse Amaro — who was among prosecutors in the case against former V.I. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal — “recently departed the Office.”
After a status conference Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney set jury selection for Nov. 2 and opening statements in the Charlemagnes’ trial for the following day.
Former V.I. Housing Finance Authority executive Darin Richardson, who awarded the woodpile contract and who had a business relationship with Anselmi, was arrested at the same time as the Charlemagnes. While their trial languished amid procedural questions and delays, he was tried and found guilty in March 2025 of lying to a federal agent, criminal conflict of interest, bank fraud, money laundering and making false statements on a loan application. Kearney sentenced Richardson to three years in prison in March.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted Richardson’s release from custody pending appeal.
