Nigerian Court Jails U.S. Citizen for Theft, $1.2 Million Visa Fraud

The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced Marco Ramirez, an American businessman, to 10 years imprisonment for theft and fraud.

According to PremiumTimes, Nigerians are the victims of $1.2 million in visa fraud and over $360,000 in theft.

As plaintiff in the suit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) further disclosed that in a ruling on Tuesday, the trial judge, Mojisola Dada, found Ramirez guilty of all the counts of fraud and theft preferred against him.

As reported in the suit, the EFCC alleged that on several occasions in 2013, Ramirez obtained $1,235,000 from his victims as processing fees for their investments in his company, U.S.A. Now Energy Capital Group LP to qualify for a U.S. Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) Investor Programme visa. Other companies of Ramirez are U.S.A NOW LLC and  Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP.

The supposed initiative promised U.S. passports to eligible targets, most of whom turned out to be scammed by Ramirez.

While the trial reportedly suffered delay due to the absence of the defence counsel, Lawal Pedro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the Judge eventually held on Tuesday that the prosecution proved its case against Ramirez “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“Marco Antonio Ramirez, U.S.A. NOW LLC and the U.S.A. Now Energy Capital Group LP, between 19 February 2013 and 18 April 2013 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonourably converted to your personal use the aggregate sum of $230,000 property of Abubakar Umar Sadiq,” one of the counts reads.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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