Accused Money Launderer Appears in Court

By KARI FORD

The case against an American citizen arrested in Thailand for committing tens of thousands of dollars in fraud and money laundering was adjourned Thursday, giving the defense time to study new email evidence announced by the prosecutor.

Court officers walked Theodore Werner into the courtroom, dressed in his tan department of corrections jump suit, with his head held high and his hands cuffed behind his back, as he was directed to sit down next to his attorney.

The prosecutor said that the investigation had turned up emails, from the defendant’s account regarding the securities fraud that he is accused of committing. Werner’s attorney, Steven Politi, requested more time to go over the material with his client.

According to the indictment, Werner, a U.S. citizen living in Thailand, phoned his victims, who mostly lived in New Zealand and Australia, using fake identities, and posing as a securities broker. He allegedly convinced them to invest their money in private companies that were about to go public, stating that if they invested now, they would multiply their investment exponentially. He also supposedly called them again after that with a different identity, telling them that they need to pay U.S. taxes on their transactions before they could receive a payout.

Werner also allegedly created fake documents that seemed to have been sent from legitimate brokers, or U.S. departments such as the IRS, to “prove” to his victims that what he was doing was official.

The money was sent to U.S. bank accounts, and then withdrawn and transferred to the personal, international bank accounts of Werner and his co-conspirators, who yet weren’t charged.

Werner was set to return to court on April 27.