US fugitive working as porn actor arrested in Bali

Marcus Beam, who is accused of misappropriating about US$500,000 from investors, was arrested with his American girlfriend in Badung

He had been making and selling sex videos to support his living expenses in Bali

Reading Time:2 minutes

Published: 9:22pm, 24 Jul 2020Updated: 9:24pm, 24 Jul 2020

Authorities on the Indonesian resort island of Bali have arrested an American fugitive accused of investment fraud in the United States involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said on Friday.

Bali police chief Petrus Reinhard Golose said the suspect, Marcus Beam, had been making and selling sex videos in Bali to support his living expenses there.

He said Beam apparently escaped from the US by using a passport with a different name and entered Bali in January. Beam was arrested with his American girlfriend in a villa in Badung late Thursday based on a notice from Interpol, Golose said.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on its website that Beam, of Woodridge, Illinois, is accused of misappropriating about US$500,000 from investors that was supposed to be placed in investment funds.

US national Marcus Beam (R) is presented to the media at the Bali police headquarters in Denpasar, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Instead of investing the money, Beam spent it on personal and business expenses, it said. To conceal the misappropriation, he sent fraudulent account statements to investors, and did not return any money when they attempted to redeem their investments, the SEC said.