British Man Extradited from Spain to Tampa to Face Fraud Charges

Richard Sinclair Pope, citizen of the United Kingdom, was extradited to Tampa from Spain earlier this month to face federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

In March 2009, Pope was indicted, along with six other defendants, for conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering. He was apprehended in Spain last fall. The U.S. government requested his extradition for prosecution.

Extradition is a formal request from one government to another to transfer custody of a defendant for prosecution, sentencing and/or incarceration. The extradition process, whether it be between American states or between the U.S. and a foreign country, requires that certain identifications and paperwork be completed to insure that the correct person is being involuntarily removed to face prosecution. (Often, defendants waive extradition, avoiding the time-consuming, technical process entirely.)

According to the Indictment, Pope and others allegedly engaged in a fraud scheme from 2004 through 2008, in which they:

• assumed the identities of dormant, publicly-traded companies;
• caused the sale of virtually worthless shares of stock in the companies to British victim-investors (using Spanish boiler room telemarketers, who employed high pressure and misleading sales techniques);
• caused victim-investors to wire their investment funds to bank accounts in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere;
• and used the victim-investors’ funds to perpetuate the scheme and for their own personal enrichment

Pope faces 36 separate felony charges, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. The government is also seeking forfeiture of cash, real estate and other assets from Pope and his co-defendants in order to recoup the losses allegedly caused to investors.

Specifically, the government is looking at 15 pieces of real property, many in Pasco County, Florida, others in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, as well as dozens of bank accounts, two boats, several vehicles, an airplane and about $80,000 in cash.