TUSCUMBIA-Greg Aziz, chairman and CEO of National Steel Car Limited who has been indicted on 10 counts of securities fraud has filed a written waiver of arraignment and pleaded not guilty to charges he planned to defraud the Retirement Systems of Alabama of $350 million according to court officials on Wednesday. Aziz’s lawyer also filed a motion to dismiss.
Steve Feaga, deputy director of the Alabama Securities Commission for enforcement and litigation, is prosecuting the case along with Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham and Amanda Senn, associate counsel for the agency.
A plea of not guilty and waiver of arraignment is a common practice in criminal cases and Deputy Director Feaga had no further comment. On the motion to dismiss filed by Aziz’s attorney Joe Espy the prosecution will file the appropriate response after studying the motion further according to Feaga.
Aziz was scheduled to have an arraignment hearing on Wednesday morning he was not present . “He entered a plea of not guilty in writing,” District Attorney Graham said. “The next step in the case will be various motions, a plea trial or settlement conference.” Circuit Court Judge Jackie Hatcher set a pre-trial hearing for January 13, according to court records.
If convicted, Aziz could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years on each count. As part of the bond set by Hatcher, Aziz must remain in Lauderdale, Colbert or Lawrence counties on electronic monitoring.
More on the Aziz case HERE
