found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide. Berman stated: "Today's events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein's many victims their day in Court. To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment—which included a conspiracy count—remains ongoing." On October 9, 2019, Berman announced charges against Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and two others for campaign violations relating to the illegal use of straw donors and foreign money. Berman said: "They sought political influence not only to advance their own financial interests but to advance the political interests of at least one foreign official—a Ukrainian government official who sought the dismissal of the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine". Berman said the investigation was ongoing. On October 15, 2019, Berman announced the indictment of Halkbank, the largest state-owned bank in Turkey, for a multi-billion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. In announcing the charges, Berman said: "The bank's audacious conduct was supported and protected by high-ranking Turkish government officials, some of whom received millions of dollars in bribes to promote and protect the scheme." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lobbied President Trump to quash Berman's investigation, as Erdogan's family and allies could be implicated by it. In June 2019, Attorney General Barr pressed Berman to allow Halkbank to pay a fine and acknowledge some wrongdoing, and to end criminal investigations into senior Halkbank officials involved in the sanctions evasion. Previously, acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker rejected Berman's request to file criminal charges against the bank. Whitaker did so shortly after Erdogan had pressed Trump to quash the investigation. On November 19, 2019, Berman charged guards Michael Thomas and Tova Noel with creating false records, and with conspiracy, after video footage obtained by prosecutors revealed that Jeffrey Epstein had, against regulation, been in his cell unchecked for eight hours before being found dead on August 10, 2019. On January 27, 2020, at a press conference sponsored by Safe Horizon at the site of Jeffrey Epstein's New York mansion, Berman was asked whether Prince Andrew was cooperating with the SDNY's investigation into Epstein's coconspirators. Berman responded that to date Andrew had provided "zero cooperation". On March 9,