Jacob Ostreicher
| Jacob Ostreicher | |
|---|---|
Jacob Ostreicher in Santa Cruz, Palmasola Prison
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| Born |
February 7, 1959 Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation | Businessman, investor |
| Parent(s) | David Ostreicher Violet Ostreicher |
Jacob Ostreicher (born February 7, 1959) is an American businessman and investor. In June 2011, he was arrested in Santa Cruz, Bolivia while overseeing a rice growing agricultural venture that he had invested in, and was jailed for 18 months on suspicion of money laundering, though he was never formally charged. Ostreicher maintained his innocence and stated that the allegations by the Bolivian government were "the scam of the century". His family and friends initiated a public effort to plea for his release, and actor-activist Sean Penn visited Ostreicher in Bolivia and pledged to work for his release.
On December 18, 2012, Ostreicher was released from prison on $14,000 bail and placed under house arrest. Bolivian officials were later arrested for what authorities state was an extortion ring. On December 16, 2013, Ostreicher arrived in the United States after 30 months in Bolivia. It was unclear how he managed to flee the country.
Ostreicher was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1959 to David and Violet Ostreicher, both Orthodox Jews. He has 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
A group of investors, including Ostreicher and Geneva lawyer Andre Zolty, invested at least $25 million in a rice farming project in Bolivia in 2008. Zolty stated that the idea originally came from Claudia Liliana Rodriguez who he had worked with in Geneva. The investors became concerned with irregularities and suspected that Rodriguez was cheating them. Ostreicher was dispatched to Bolivia to handle the situation, and pursued criminal charges against Rodriguez. The investors also state that Rodriguez became involved in a romantic and financial relationship with a drug trafficker by the name of Maximiliano Dorado.
Dorado was arrested in 2010, and was imprisoned in Brazil.
On June 4, 2011, after an initial investigation, Ostreicher was arrested for suspicion of money laundering and criminal organization. The prosecutors also claimed that one of the investors, Andre Zolty, was under investigation in Switzerland, however, the Swiss authorities have denied this. Rodriguez has also been arrested. Ostreicher was imprisoned at Palmasola prison.
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