U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in March denied the first emergency motion Brynee Baylor filed, saying she had not exhausted all administrative remedies and only provided a 15-year-old medical report in her bid for home confinement. Baylor said in her new motion she addressed those issues and "respectfully moves a second time, based on the 'extraordinary and compelling reason' presented by her incurable chronic kidney disease (CKD) and high blood pressure, for compassionate release."
Baylor argued in both motions for release that she has kidney problems, which, along with her hypertension and the poor medical treatment she is receiving in custody, exposes her to infection.
In her new motion, Baylor provided medical records from her incarceration at Federal Prison Camp Alderson in West Virginia and other recent medical records, which she said confirm she has focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a chronic kidney disease, and high blood pressure.
"The National Kidney Foundation and National Heart Association have conclusively determined that kidney conditions and blood pressure problems to be underlying medical conditions that put an individual at higher risk for severe illness if one were to contract COVID-19," Baylor said, according to Law360.
"The Centers for Disease Control have identified several factors that put individuals at higher risk for severe illness, including hypertension and chronic kidney disease," she added.
Baylor also said she has exhausted her administrative remedies because she wrote the warden at FPC Alderson on March 16 to officially request that the warden file a compassionate release motion on her behalf, but the request was denied April 8.
Baylor was sentenced to 25 months in prison last fall on conspiracy and securities fraud charges related to an alleged fake investment scheme in 2010. The scheme also saw the Securities and Exchange Commission order her to pay $2.7 million prior to her criminal indictment.
Baylor started serving her sentence in January and was scheduled for an October 26, 2021, release.
In response to Baylor’s motion, prosecutors argued that the court cannot honor her request because she did not first exhaust her administrative options directly through the Bureau of Prisons, according to The Wrap.
As previously reported, the former District of Columbia attorney was sentenced to prison on Thursday, September 12 in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for operating a fraudulent trading program for investors and failing to file a tax return, according to The United States Department of Justice.
Baylor was sentenced to 25 months in prison for conspiracy and securities fraud, one year of prison (concurrent) for her other fraud convictions and for failure to file a tax return and pay taxes, three years of supervised release, and restitution to her victims in the amount of $2.2 million dollars.
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