• 09
  • February
    2012

A New York court recently ordered a man held on suspicion that he's committed securities fraud, a media source reports.

The 44-year-old former Las Vegas resident reportedly claimed diplomatic immunity; a claim the court rejected. He's now apparently going to be extradited to Nevada to face the fraud charges.

Media outlets report that the native of England allegedly presented himself as a billionaire interested in purchasing a decommissioned British aircraft carried.

Prosecutors claim that in 2004, he also convinced a Nevada woman to put $130,000 into a fraudulent charity.

The suspect was arrested in February of 2010 in Colorado on a Nevada arrest warrant, but the trial was called off late last year after he reportedly failed to appear in court.

He was then arrested in early January of this year, about 380 miles northwest of Newburgh, in Niagara Falls, as he entered the country from Canada.

A New York court ruled that he could be held for 30 days while a Clark County, Nevada, court files extradition paperwork.

In the hearing, a fingerprint expert apparently presented evidence showing that the man is the person wanted in Nevada, however the suspect didn't contest that evidence. Instead, he said he claimed diplomatic immunity.

The judge denied the request.

In Nevada, the man will reportedly face charges of securities fraud, transacting business as an unlicensed broker, theft and offering to sell or sale of an unregistered security.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on each charge.

Source: Associated Press: "Extradition hearing in New York for man charged in Vegas securities fraud; arrested at border," Feb. 6, 2012