An American man has been remanded by a Nigerian High Court judge after allegedly defrauding three people of more than half a million dollars.

Marco Ramirez, an American citizen currently held at Kirikiri Maximum Priso, in the country's south west, was tried for running an elaborate green card and investment scam to steal $US565,000 ($745,000) from locals.

He pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.

Nigerian prosecutors alleged that Ramirez had set up a fake company under the name Eagleford Instalodge Group, which he would then use to procure investment under the assumption that he could provide investors with an American green card.

One wealthy Nigerian investor Godson Echejue was persuaded by Ramirez to invest a staggering $US545,000 – a figure that was then boosted by two separate men who each pledged $US10,000 in the hopes their application for an American passport would be fast-tracked.

Under US law, entrepreneurs who plan to create 10 permanent full-time jobs for Americans in the US are eligible to apply for permanent residence.

Under the current rules, entrepreneurs must invest $US1 million total, or $US500,000 in a rural area where unemployment is high.

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requested that Ramirez be kept in custody over the course of the trial.

His head defence lawyer Chukwudi Maduka said that the 16 counts levelled against Ramirez came out of the blue.

"Ever since my client has been in the custody of the EFCC, we are just seeing this charge for the very first time today," Maduka told The Nigerian Bulletin.

"He is already on EFCC bail in Abuja and his international passport has been forfeited as part of his bail conditions.

"We pray that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the EFCC pending the time my Lord hears the bail application."


Source: https://finance.nine.com.au/2017/06/26/12/15/170626-finance-american-man-alledgedly-defrauds-nigerian-men-of-565000

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