Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2011

Provident Capital Indemnity, Its President and Auditor Charged in $670 Million Fraud Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. – The president and the auditor of a Costa Rican company selling reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies were arrested and charged, along with the company itself, in a seven-count indictment unsealed today for their alleged role in a $670 million fraud scheme involving victims throughout the United States and abroad.

The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charges Costa Rica-based Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd. (PCI), Minor Vargas Calvo, 59, and Jorge Castillo, 55, each with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of more than $40 million from all three defendants. Vargas was arrested on Jan. 18, 2011, at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Castillo was arrested earlier today in New Jersey.

“PCI is accused of lying to investors across the globe to sell more than half a billion dollars worth of ‘guaranteed’ bonds which turned out to be worthless,â€