U.S. Man Arrested, Accused of Fraud

Costa Rican police arrested a U.S. citizen identified by the name Russell Graham MacArthur, 41, who is accused of being involved in a $20 million real estate fraud operation in the state of Florida.

Graham was arrested at a hotel in Playa Herradura, on the central Pacific coast, after police raided his room and seized $2 million in $20 bills, a 9-mm pistol and some marijuana.

U.S. police had been searching for MacArthur since September 2005, the same month he arrived to Costa Rica, according to the daily La Nación. Here, he used several fake identities and traveled around the country, the daily reported.

The U.S. man is suspected of working with his two brothers, who were arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a few weeks ago, to carry out fraudulent real estate sales in Florida.

MacArthur was taken to San José to face extradition proceedings to the United States.