UN owes alleged conman millions, court told

An Otago man who allegedly defrauded investors of $1.7 million told people the United Nations owed him $13 million for helping to restore democracy to an African country.

68-year-old James Lindon Graham, of Kakanui, south of Oamaru, is facing 99 representative charges of obtaining money by deception, using a document for pecuniary advantage, and money laundering.

A witness yesterday told the Timaru District Court that Graham said he was put out on the street as a seven-year-old when his father, the president of Indonesia, lost power in a military coup, The Timaru Herald reported.

Graham also told him he had been in the military as a young man and had been involved in a mission to restore democracy to an African country.

As a result of that mission, the United Nations owed him $13 million.

"It sounded too preposterous to be true," he said.

The witness said Graham also mentioned his "son" Samsu -- an Indonesian boy he paid $1000 for.

At one stage Graham asked the man if he wanted to turn $8000 into $20,000 in a week.

The man was not interested and never invested any money.

Later, while remanded in custody, Graham told him he intended to buy Christchurch's Crowne Plaza Hotel when he got out of prison.

He also said the witness would be one of his five beneficiaries when he died.

Graham was arrested at Auckland International Airport on July 2009 as he was about fly to Singapore on a way ticket.

When taken into custody he was found to have a range of documents in his luggage including documents from Work and Income, medical records and financial documents.

- NZPA