ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two Washington state men have been accused of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud in seeking investors for a gold mine involving placer mining beach sand at Sitkinak Island, which is near Kodiak Island.
William C. Lange of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Joseph Pascua of Lake Tapps, Wash., are charged in an indictment from Brooklyn, N.Y. They made their first court appearance Wednesday in federal Court in Tacoma, Wash.
Prosecutors say they persuaded their victims to invest in Black Sand Mine, Inc., by misrepresenting the profitability of the mine.
An Alaska mining official, Kerwyn Krause, told the Anchorage Daily News the Black Sand Mine company is not qualified to conduct business in the state.
