ATLANTA - An American woman was convicted Monday of defrauding a bank of more than dlrs 4 million in loans purportedly obtained to build a rice plantation in the Republic of Ghana.
Juliet Cotton used the money for things such as a luxury automobiles, a down payment on a dlrs 1.1 million home, a 50-piece orchestra at her wedding and a Caribbean honeymoon, federal prosecutors said.
As owner of Quality Grain Company Ghana Ltd., Cotton obtained two multimillion-dollar loans from SouthTrust Bank to build the rice plantation. She diverted much of the money to her personal use between November 1996 and December 1997.
The 38-year-old suburban Atlanta woman was convicted of 35 charges, including bank graud, money laundering and false statements. She was placed under house arrest pending sentencing on Aug. 29.
On May 17, 2001, a Ghana court approved a government application to take over Quality Grain's assets there after the failed rice-growing project left the government holding millions of dollars in debts.
In a civil lawsuit brought by two former partners in Quality Grain, a Georgia jury ruled that Cotton must repay dlrs 7.2 million to the company.
