Monday, December 15th, 2008
In a visit to Costa Rica yesterday, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund said that Costa Rica is in relatively good shape to weather the global economic slowdown.
Strauss-Kahn, however, the country’s central bank should remain ready to act.
Strauss-Kahn met with Costa Rica’s president, Oscar Arias, the ministro de Hacienda, Guillermo Zúñiga, and the president of the Central Bank, Francisco de Paula Gutierrez.
Strauss-Kahn said there was general agreement that a combination of domestic policy adjustment and external financing are needed to help the Costa Rican economy and people deal with the slowdown.
“In this regard, the country can confront the challenging global environment from a position of relative strength,” he said in a statement. “The prudent fiscal stance of recent years provides the authorities with some room for maneuver.”
The Central Bank must remain “vigilant” to ensure “a smooth adjustment in domestic demand and the current account deficit, maintain the attractiveness of local currency assets, and ensure that inflation expectations converge toward the central bank’s inflation target,” he said.
Strauss-Kahn added that the IMF stands ready to help Costa Rica with as much credit as it needs to face the global financial crisis.
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Monday, December 15th, 2008
Another American has been arrested in the Costa Rica business scam that bilked people in the US out of some serious money. The scammers employed virtual resources to make it seem like they were located in the U.S.
“The Postal Inspection Service investigated a virtual office in Reno, Nev., and learned that it and the U.S. Mail were being used as part of a international fraud scheme aimed at United States citizens. Our investigation discovered a web of deception that led to Costa Rica. With international cooperation, we have now arrested two of the leaders of this scheme.” said U. S. Postal Inspector in Charge Pete Zegarac, based in Phoenix.
According to the Department of Justice:
Stephen Schultz was arrested based on charges that he and a co-conspirator, Jeffrey Pearson, purported to sell beverage and greeting card business opportunities, including assistance in establishing, maintaining and operating such businesses. The charges form part of the government’s continued nationwide crackdown on business opportunity fraud.
Pearson was arrested on Dec. 9, 2008, in Costa Rica. The United States intends to seek the extradition of Schultz and Pearson from Costa Rica.
Virtual Offices and VoIP were what the conspirators used to make it seem like they were in the US like their victims.
“We greatly appreciate the effort and cooperation of Costa Rican authorities in arresting these two defendants,” said Gregory G. Katsas, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. Assistant Attorney General Katsas commended the investigative efforts of the Postal Inspection Service offices based in Reno, Nev., and Miami.
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