A release issued last week by the US attorney for south Florida confirmed that a jury had convicted Lawrence Foster of eight fraud-related counts in relation to his Paradise Is Mine company. Foster, who is now in jail awaiting sentence on January 5, 2015, and his scheme received $8 million from around 90 investors after promising “that it owned land in the Bahamas and would use investor funds to develop the island of Rum Cay”. Read more here Rum Cay Scam
The validity of her claims have been questioned and investigated on other major islands in the Bahamas, and in some cases, no root of title has been, established. If this proves to be the case on Rum Cay, who will reimburse the newest owners, when they find out that they have bought an illegal piece of property? Read story here
Foster claimed to own the title to 16,000 acres of land on the island, when that land was actually held in the name of a Bahamian company owned by a convicted felon and embroiled in litigation over title to the land.
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The land wars have fueled a controversy that involves powerful Nassau lawyers (on both sides of the political fence), the few dozen poor and formerly enslaved inhabitants of Rum Cay, wealthy second home owners, and a bevy of foreign and local fortune seekers.
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On October 22, 2014, the Foster jury found Foster, also known as Lorenzo Foster, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud. One co-defendant was found guilty of three counts of structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements, and the other co-defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
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