American businessman Marco Antonio Ramirez has been found guilty by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, for orchestrating a $1.2 million EB-5 visa scam. Alongside his companies—USA NOW LLC, Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP, and USA Now Energy Capital Group LP—Ramirez faced prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding victims out of $1,235,000.
The prosecution asserted that Ramirez collected this money from individuals as processing fees for investments in his company under the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) United States Investor Programme, which would qualify them for U.S. Green Cards.
According to a statement from EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Ramirez was initially arraigned on a 12-count charge, to which he pleaded “not guilty.” He was later re-arraigned on June 24, 2022, facing an amended 16-count charge.
Among the charges, Count 13 alleges that Ramirez and his companies dishonorably converted $545,000 belonging to Godson Onyemaechi Echegile. Count 14 involves $314,800 belonging to Abubakar Umar Sadiq, while Count 15 pertains to an additional $230,000 from the same victim.
During the trial, prosecuting counsel M.S. Owede presented numerous documentary evidences and called witnesses to support the allegations against Ramirez. Despite securing the services of Lawal Pedro, SAN, for his defense, the trial experienced multiple adjournments.
On May 8, 2024, after a lengthy process, the adoption of final written addresses took place. On September 10, 2024, Justice Dada concluded that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Ramirez was sentenced to 10 years each for counts one to 12, related to obtaining by false pretence, and 10 years for counts 13 to 16, related to theft. Additionally, he was found guilty on a separate amended nine-count charge involving an alleged $368,698.24 fraud filed against him by the EFCC.
