Alleged Fraudster with Forged Belizean IDs Granted $10,000 Bail

David Miguel Nanes Schnitzer

Forty-seven year old Mexican- American national David Miguel Nanes Schnitzer is out on bail tonight. Nanes is wanted in Mexico in connection with what is known as a Ponzi scheme in which investors lost forty-two million U.S. dollars. But Nanes has been living in Belize for over two years and was able to acquire a slew of Belizean documents including a passport. In court, there were strong objections but Supreme Court Judge Denis S. Hanomansingh this morning granted him bail in the sum of ten thousand dollars plus one surety of the same amount. C.I.B. officials on hand served Nanes with another count of possession of a forged document hoping to keep him in custody.   But because he had been granted bail on the original charge of forgery an hour before, Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser determined he was free to go. He will, however, have to surrender his travelling documents and report to the San Pedro Police station twice a week. His attorney, Liesje Barrow-Chung argues that Nanes is not a flight risk since he is a naturalized Belizean and a real estate developer in the island.  Barrow-Chung also said that the allegations that he is wanted in Mexico in connection to the fraud scheme is neither here nor there since there are no supporting documents before the court on the allegations.  Police sources say that Nanes had allegedly provided false information when he was issued with a driver’s license in San Pedro. It is over that license that it came to light that he is a wanted man. He had pleaded guilty then and the Chief Magistrate; Anne Marie Smith remanded him into custody until November ninth, 2015. After his arraignment, Nanes changed his guilty plea to not guilty when he re-appeared before the Chief Magistrate who at the time denied him bail but tonight that has changed and he is comfortably out on bail.