Ex-US Virgin Islands senator extradited from Italy for fraud
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – The U.S. Justice Department says a former member of the Virgin Islands Senate has been extradited from Italy to face corruption charges in the Caribbean territory.
Former Sen. Wayne James was charged in an October 2015 indictment with wire fraud and embezzlement from a federal program. He was arrested in Modena, Italy, in June and extradited to the U.S. on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old James served one term in the territorial legislature from 2009 to 2011. He obtained federal funds for research into an 1878 uprising by freed slaves in St. Croix and is accused of diverting thousands of dollars of that money for his personal use.
The Virgin Islands Daily News reported after his arrest that his attorney in Italy said James denied the allegations.
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