On Tuesday, September 10, a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja convicted American businessman Marco Antonio Ramirez of defrauding victims of $1.2 million through an EB-5 visa scam, along with an additional $368,698.24 in fraud.
Ramirez was sentenced to 74 years in prison by Justice Mojisola Dada.
The court found Ramirez guilty on two consolidated charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
For the first charge, Ramirez received eight years for each of counts one to six, and 10 years each for counts seven and eight. On the second charge, he was sentenced to 10 years each for counts one to 12 for obtaining money by false pretenses, and 10 years each for counts 13 to 16 for stealing.
The EFCC reported that Ramirez, along with his companies—USA Now LLC, Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP, and USA Now Energy Capital Group LP—misled victims by promising access to the U.S. Employment-Based Fifth Preference Investor Program, which would qualify them for U.S. Green Cards and permanent residency. Instead of fulfilling these promises, Ramirez diverted the funds for his personal use.
The offenses occurred on February 5, 2013, and April 18, 2013, in Lagos.
In her judgment, Justice Dada stated that Ramirez had dishonestly used the investment funds for personal gain.
“The prosecution has successfully proved that the promises made to the victims were false, and the funds obtained were under fraudulent pretences,” she said. The EFCC said Ramirez’s fraudulent activities took place in 2013, noting that one of the victims, Godson Echegile, lost $545,000 to Ramirez under the false pretext that it was a processing fee for his investment, which would qualify him for a U.S. Green Card through the EB-5 programme.
Initially arraigned on 12 counts of fraud, Ramirez had pleaded not guilty. After the EFCC amended the charges, Ramirez was re-arraigned on 16 counts on June 24, 2022.
On September 10, Justice Dada found Ramirez guilty and imposed a sentence of 10 years for each of counts one to 12, related to obtaining money by false pretenses, and 10 years for each of counts 13 to 16, related to stealing.
The sentences will run consecutively, resulting in a total of 74 years in prison.
