US lawyer indicted for $12.5m Somali assets fraud

A lawyer in Maryland, US, has been indicted for his alleged role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain control of more than $12.5m (£9.2m) held by financial institutions on behalf of the Somali government.

Jeremy Schulman, 47, was charged in an indictment filed in the District of Maryland, according to a press statement from the US Department of Justice.

Mr Schulman is alleged to conspired with others to fraudulently obtain control of the assets around the world and enrich himself and others by taking a portion of those assets in fees and expenses.

He and others are accused of creating false documents regarding his authority to recover assets on behalf of the Somali government.

"In addition to using forged and fraudulent documents, Schulman also allegedly made material misrepresentations and concealed material information from these banks and institutions regarding his authority to act on behalf of the Somali government," the justice department noted.

"As a result of this scheme, Schulman, his co-conspirators, and the law firm where Schulman was a shareholder ultimately obtained control of approximately $12.5m of frozen Somali funds."

Mr Schulman is also alleged to have caused his law firm to improperly retain more than $3.3m while remitting the rest of the amount to the Somali government.

This article was originally published by BBC News. [Photo: Bethesda Magazine]