By Kevin Penton

Law360 (April 2, 2020, 8:38 PM EDT ) Being afraid of contracting the novel coronavirus because of an unsubstantiated "consistent cough" should not be enough to spring a convicted fraudster from a New Jersey jail as he awaits sentencing on charges he and his then-wife defrauded Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Hunton & Williams LLP and MasterCard Inc. in a $7.8 million scheme, prosecutors argued Thursday.

Melvin Feliz does not qualify as "elderly" because he is only 54 and he fails to prove he has suffered a "persistent cough" for several years and that he allegedly consulted with a doctor in 2014 about the condition, the federal government said Thursday in a letter sent to the District of New Jersey.

"Defendant is not among the types of detainees that have been designated for release in light of the pandemic," the letter reads. "He does not present any evidence of health conditions that make him particularly susceptible to COVID-19 complications."

Feliz's attorney on Wednesday urged U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to release his client pending his sentencing, citing Feliz's age and pulmonary issues to suggest he has a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated at Essex County Correctional Facility.

"As a 54-year-old male, Mr. Feliz is at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19 than most of the other inmates and corrections officers at ECCF," reads the letter penned by Jason F. Orlando, Feliz's lawyer. "In addition, Mr. Feliz has indicated that in recent years he has experienced pulmonary issues related to a persistent cough."

Feliz has admitted to conspiring with Keila Ravelo while she was a partner at the firms and representing MasterCard. The scheme involved bilking the firms and the company over several years out of millions paid to sham litigation support companies.

It was not immediately clear whether Feliz and Ravelo were still married.

After pleading guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion, Ravelo was sentenced in October 2018 to five years in prison. She is scheduled to be released in April 2022, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

Feliz pled guilty in August 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion in connection with the scheme. Feliz previously pled guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine. He was charged with two other men in that case. Feliz has been in custody at the Essex County jail since December 2014, according to Orlando's letter.

Under a plea agreement, Feliz has been expected to receive a four-year prison term for the fraudulent billing scheme, which would be served consecutively with a sentence of 10 years in prison for the narcotics offense, court documents state.

The parties are attempting to schedule Feliz's sentencing for late May, according to Orlando's letter.

Feliz's bid to get out of jail comes two days after U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer denied motions from two men accused of taking part in a $722 million cryptocurrency scheme to be released from the Essex County jail over fears of a COVID-19 outbreak there.

Among other factors, the judge noted that the jail has "undertaken extensive measures to address COVID-19," such as quarantining new inmates for 14 days to ensure they don't display related symptoms before they're moved into a housing unit, severely curtailing the flow of people coming into the facility, and placing a moratorium on visits from family and friends.

Counsel for the parties could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

The government is represented by Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

Feliz is represented by Jason F. Orlando of Murphy Orlando LLC.

The case is U.S. v. Feliz, case number 2:15-cr-00421, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

--Additional reporting by Bill Wichert. Editing by Amy Rowe.

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