Georgia woman convicted of fraud through African rice scheme

ATLANTA - An American woman was convicted Monday of defrauding a bank of more than dlrs 4 million in loans purportedly obtained to build a rice plantation in the Republic of Ghana.<br> <br> <br> Juliet Cotton used the money for things such as a luxury automobiles, a down payment on a dlrs 1.1 million home, a 50-piece orchestra at her wedding and a Caribbean honeymoon, federal prosecutors said.<br> <br> As owner of Quality Grain Company Ghana Ltd., Cotton obtained two multimillion-dollar loans from SouthTrust Bank to build the rice plantation. She diverted much of the money to her personal use between November 1996 and December 1997.<br> <br> The 38-year-old suburban Atlanta woman was convicted of 35 charges, including bank graud, money laundering and false statements. She was placed under house arrest pending sentencing on Aug. 29.<br> <br> On May 17, 2001, a Ghana court approved a government application to take over Quality Grain&#39;s assets there after the failed rice-growing project left the government holding millions of dollars in debts.<br> <br> In a civil lawsuit brought by two former partners in Quality Grain, a Georgia jury ruled that Cotton must repay dlrs 7.2 million to the company.<br> <br>