U.S. fugitive wanted by the FBI is arrested near Toronto

A man wanted in Texas for an alleged multi-million dollar fraud scheme has been arrested near Toronto. Francisco Beltran was arrested by the RCMP on an FBI warrant.

McALLEN, TX - RCMP have scooped up a fugitive wanted for an alleged multi-million dollar fraud scheme in Texas. Francisco Beltran, 42, was arrested near Toronto by the RCMP on a U.S. extradition warrant. He is wanted for three counts of wire fraud, said U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson who announced the arrest by the RCMP. Johnson said the suspect will remain in custody pending an extradition hearing. According to a Dec. 16, 2008 indictment by a federal grand jury in McAllen, Beltran worked for Barnes Distribution, a distributor of industrial and automotive supplies based in Cleveland, Ohio. In a press release, the Department of Justice said Barnes worked for the company as a purchasing consultant between 2005 to 2007. His employment was terminated in 2007, the DOJ said. But following his termination, Beltran allegedly continued to represent himself as an employee of Barnes, the indictment alleges. "In a typical transaction, Beltran would allegedly created the Barnes purchase orders on his home computer—using Barnes’s logo and proprietary transaction codes—and submitted the purchase order to the victim supplier," the DOJ alleges. "Over time, court documents allege, suppliers in various parts of the country, including one based in Mission, Texas, wired more than $3 million to Beltran’s Wing Wah bank account among other illicit accounts and entities controlled by Beltran based on the fictitious purchase orders Beltran submitted to the suppliers," said the press release. If convicted of wire fraud, Beltran faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, a $250,000 criminal fine and mandatory restitution. There is no parole in the U.S. federal system. The investigation leading to the charges and the arrest was conducted by the FBI, Interpol, and the RCMP, the press release said.