A US lawyer has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in relation to a project in Libya.
Timothy Oliver used the ruse of a land development project in Libya to embezzle $500,000 from a Mexican construction company, ARS Tectonica.
Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Oliver devised an elaborate hoax to convince the company that he had a lucrative contract with a branch of the Libyan government called the Organization for Development of Administrative Centers.
Oliver described himself as vice chairman for North African Affairs for a company called GVA International which purportedly was developing a real estate project in Bani Walid, Libya.
After receiving the money, Oliver spent all but $1,000 "on debts unrelated to the ODAC contract," according to federal prosecutors.
The 60-year-old faces 27 to 41 months in prison.
According to a plea agreement between Oliver and the U.S. attorney's office, his guilty plea to the wire fraud count ends further investigation of "known crimes."
(Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune)
(Fraud image via Shutterstock)
