Embattled Spokane Developer Gregory Jeffreys will have to face 73 felony counts of fraud-related federal charges without the services of experienced defense attorney Mark Vovos.

Vovos has filed a motion to withdraw from the case after initially representing Jeffreys in the first two hearings following Jeffreys’ Jan. 25 indictment on dozens of counts of bank fraud and money laundering charges stemming from a series of transactions in what government prosecutors have described as a Ponzi scheme.

“Mr. Jeffreys is currently without funds to pay for an attorney or the attendant and necessary costs for his defense,” Vovos wrote in court records. “In my view of the money laundering charges and my limited review of his financial situation, he has not funds for an attorney or experts that are necessary in this complex litigation.”

Jeffreys, 53, has largely been blamed for the legal and financial debacle surrounding the Ridpath Hotel. He faces 73 felony counts of fraud and money-laundering charges in which federal prosecutors allege he, Shannon Stiltner, and his wife used forged documents to defraud banks and others to invest in buildings that often didn’t even exist.

None of the charges against him, however, are related to his dealings involving the Ridpath.

Also charged in the case are 53-year-old Kimberly Jeffreys and 51-year-old Stiltner. Both have been released on bond but U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno ordered Gregory Jeffreys held in the Spokane County Jail without bond following a contentious hearing on Feb. 1.

Read previous coverage here and here.