A 68-year-old dual United States and Swiss citizen was indicted for fraud in San Jose, Texas yesterday (Thursday) for allegedly stealing $11 million in a diamond export scam, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The global news wire service, AFP, reported that the man had told over 40 investors he was importing diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Europe, Asia and the US.
He reportedly claimed that the business would cut out “corrupt middlemen” in Africa and send a bigger profit to African miners as well as provide the investors with returns of up to 10 times their investment.
But despite dumping millions into accounts controlled by the man in Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe no investor ever saw any return on their investment, according to prosecutors.
Excuses for not paying his investors ranged from the fact that he needed pay for unpaid legal bills; that he needed to bribe African government officials; that he needed to renew expired documents; or pay for insurance or taxes, among other things.
AFP reported that the San Jose-based man had been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one count of commodities fraud.
