Texan in Taguig wanted for securities fraud falls

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Tuesday it had arrested a fugitive who is wanted by authorities in the United States for securities fraud and money laundering.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said that Joe Don Johnson, 42, was picked up by members of the BI fugitive search unit in Taguig City.

Johnson tried to resist arrest when he was apprehended at a restaurant at Bonifacio High Street in Global City, Taguig City.

In a statement, David said he issued a warrant of deportation against Johnson after the US Embassy informed him about the fugitive’s presence in the country.

Earlier, the BI Board of Commissioners ordered the summary deportation of Johnson upon learning that his passport had been cancelled by the US state department, making him an undocumented alien.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation have arrived in Manila to fetch Johnson and escort him back to the United States.

Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI spokesperson and acting intelligence chief, said that Johnson arrived in Manila on Feb. 23, barely three weeks after a US district court in western Oklahoma issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

The US Embassy said Johnson, who hails from Texas, was charged before the Oklahoma court with various offenses, including securities fraud, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Mangrobang said that the American had been blacklisted to prevent him from coming back to the Philippines.