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U.S. Requests Delay of Canadian Developer's Mining-Fraud Trial
By Joe Schneider
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. prosecutors in Nevada asked a judge to delay the mining-fraud trial of a Canadian developer accused of bilking investors of $26 million, citing the case's complexity.
The developer, Alberto DoCouto, is to go on trial Dec. 3 in Las Vegas on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, making a false statement, visa fraud, fraudulent interstate securities transactions and 170 counts of money laundering.
``Discovery has been voluminous,'' U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said Nov. 9 in a request for a delay. ``The government has produced multiple compact discs holding more than 40,000 pages of documents.''
DoCouto is entitled to a trial within 70 days of the filing of the September indictment, unless a judge agrees the case is ``complex'' and the benefits of a delay outweigh his rights. The government needs time to gather witnesses, some of whom must travel from abroad to attend, Myhre said in the filing.
DoCouto, of Henderson, Nevada, moved to the U.S. in 2002 after being acquitted in 1998 of fraud in Canada. He is accused of persuading Japanese, Canadian and U.S. investors to give him money to develop mines in Peru, Nevada and Guyana. DoCouto used the money to buy luxury cars and a $1.6 million home and to pay his credit card bills, prosecutors said in the indictment.
The All Japan Liquor Merchant Association, a Japanese pension fund, invested about $6.4 million in a project to develop a mine in Guyana, prosecutors said. DoCouto is accused of diverting part of the money for his personal use.
Vista Continental
The charges also include DoCouto's promotion of Vista Continental Corp., whose shares surged from zero to $7.25 in 2002, valuing the company at $326 million. He said the company's gold property in Peru was a ``blockbuster,'' potentially worth billions of dollars, the government said.
DoCouto, Vista's majority shareholder, used the money to finance a lifestyle that included the purchase of two Bentley automobiles for more than $650,000, prosecutors said. He didn't start a mine, they said.
Joseph Sciscento, DoCouto's lawyer, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Sciscento has asked for a hearing regarding his representation of DoCouto, the judge said in a docket note, without explaining further.
``It does not appear that the defendant is prepared, or can reasonably be prepared, to try this case,'' in light of the question of his legal representation and Sciscento's other obligations, Myhre said. ``The ends of justice require effective representation for the defendant.''
DoCouto is accused of lying to an immigration officer when he said he's never been charged with a crime in Canada.
The case is U.S. v. DoCouto, 02:07cr20, U.S, District Court, District of Nevada (Las Vegas).
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aTMaAPk_bPK4&refer=canada#