An American fugitive who fled the US as he was accused in a case of defrauding investors has been detained by the police in Bali, Indonesia. The man named Marcus Beam went to the Indonesian capital and was making and selling pornographic videos to support his living expenses. He will probably be transported to his home country, as per reports.
Beam, was found by the Indonesian police on his 50th birthday. He has been indicted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on nine counts of fraud. The fugitive had posed as an expert investment manager and misguided people into giving money to his firm 'Chase Private Equity.'
Escape to Bali
The trial of this man was supposed to begin on January 10. Fearing arrest, the resident of Chicago left the US and arrived on the Indonesian island in January this year. Here, he decided to pursue a different route of making money. The fraud accused got into directing and acting pornographic videos, which he sold on the internet.
The accused swindler had been active since 2015 and in that period extracted around $500,000 out of them. After his escape from the US, the 50-year old also had Interpol hunting him across the world. This led to the Indonesian police discovering his antecedents and getting hold of him.
Beam has been in police custody before as well. He was detained by American police for more than a week in September last year before he got bail. He then managed to procure a fake passport that allowed his entry into Indonesia.
Shady past
"He claimed to be an investment manager but didn't invest the funds and instead spent it on his own expenses," the chief of police in Bali, Petrus Reinhard Golose told media persons. "He allegedly committed crimes with several victims in Chicago in the US from March 2015 to October 2019," the Inspector General rank police officer added.
Bali is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia and attracts a large number of westerners. It's possible that Beam chose this place precisely to take advantage of this fact. He would have found it easier to disappear amidst the sea of westerners here. His pornographic videos would have also found a big market on the island.
At the time of his arrest, Beam was with a woman whose full identity hasn't been revealed. She is referred to by her initials WPC and is stated to be 48 years old. This lady has now become a key witness in the case. The Indonesian National Police's division dealing with international relations is going to work with the country's embassy in the US to arrange a possible extradition.
