US man up on biofuel fraud charges

A man who lives in Tampa, US is up for trial after it was discovered he conned millions of dollars out of investors by allegedly pretending he worked within Florida’s alternative fuels sector.

William Vasden Jr, who reportedly owns a local gun shop, is supposed to have reaped $3.5 million (€2.6 million) by claiming to be a successful farmer, who had bountiful land which could be used to plant biofuel feedstock, at numerous events and meetings.

The indictment states he used the company name US Crude Jatropha Oil (USCJO) to legitimise his process and discussed the use of jatropha, camelina and kenaf crops across ‘thousands of acres of farmland’.

Vasden Jr faces 30 counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements between August 2010 and November 2011. He is currently out on bail and due on trial in October.