Brazil arrests Americans for selling Amazon land
Date: 16-Sep-02
Country: BRAZIL
U.S. couple Donald and Mary Davis and Brazilian-born Joao da Cruz Veloso, a naturalized American, allegedly sold bonds worth $25 to $100 through a Web site called Rainforest Foundation, the name of Sting's nongovernmental organization.
Donors were told their money would buy parcels of protected land in the world's largest rainforest, where huge areas are being cleared by illegal loggers.
Tipped to the suspected scam by a U.S. businessman who said he donated $1 million, police arrested the three on Wednesday in the northern state of Para. Police chief Geraldo Araujo said they are accused of fraud and may be deported.
Araujo said the land being "sold" was public.
Donald Davis, who described himself as a missionary, denied the allegations.
Police also seized a stack of apparently forged land documents, receipts of bank deposits and propaganda for the Rainforest Foundation. The Web site was not registered and had no links with Sting's foundation, police said.
