Lawyer Outlines How TSA Can Spot Fake Passports. That Cemhan Biricik Can’t Pilot A Plane To Turkey. And That He Suffers From Asthma So Should Be Free.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — An attorney for Cemhan “Jimmy” Biricik, the Boca Bridges man charged in a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme, has filed a motion asking a federal judge in Michigan to release his client from jail while he awaits trial. In a legal brief filed today — which is published in its entirety below — defense attorney Todd Andrew Spodek argues that the initial decision to deny bail was based on speculative and inaccurate information and that conditions such as electronic monitoring and bond would be enough to ensure Mr. Biricik’s appearance in court.
Mr. Biricik was previously ordered to be held in pretrial detention by a Magistrate Judge on August 1, 2025, who determined he posed a “serious risk that Defendant will flee”. The original order cited several factors, including the seriousness of the charges, $40 million in allegedly unaccounted-for funds giving him the means to flee, family ties to Turkey, and his experience with international travel and status as a student pilot.
The new motion directly challenges the assertion that Mr. Biricik is a significant flight risk, arguing his connections to the United States are far stronger than his ties abroad. The document states that while his father lives in Turkey, he is a “hermit,” and Mr. Biricik’s wife, three children, and mother all reside in the U.S. The filing clarifies that an aunt, previously believed to be a tie to Turkey, was only there temporarily to receive cancer treatment.
Spodek’s brief also seeks to dismantle the idea that his client could pilot a plane to escape the country. The filing contends that while the detention order referenced a “private jet,” Mr. Biricik actually owned a “small single propeller airplane” that is “utterly incapable of flying to Turkey” and has already been seized by the government. It also argues that as a mere student pilot, he lacks the licensure, experience, or skill to complete a nearly 6,000-mile international flight.
The defense also counters the previous judge’s concern that extraditing Mr. Biricik from Turkey would be “difficult or impossible”. The motion points to a long-standing bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and Turkey, signed in 1979. It argues that because the health care fraud charges Mr. Biricik faces are also criminal offenses in Turkey, he would be subject to extradition under the terms of the treaty.
Beyond his inability to flee, the motion asserts that Mr. Biricik lacks the financial resources to survive abroad. His attorney states that all of his U.S. assets are subject to government forfeiture and his bank accounts are frozen, leaving him with no access to funds. The filing also notes that Mr. Biricik knew he was the target of a federal investigation long before his indictment but made no attempt to leave the country.
The document further argues that Mr. Biricik, who is 46 and has no criminal history, does not pose a danger to the community. The alleged danger was financial in nature, and that threat has been neutralized since his “businesses have been effectively shut down by the Government,” the brief states. Legally and practically, he can no longer engage in the business activities that led to the charges.
Finally, the defense makes the case that continuing to detain Mr. Biricik is more dangerous than releasing him. The brief reveals that he suffers from asthma, which could become a life-threatening emergency if not treated immediately in jail. It also raises the concern that evidence potentially beneficial to his defense could be lost, as witnesses and vendors who possess records are not being paid and therefore lack the “motive or incentive to preserve such evidence”.
