50,000,000 – pounds of rice “disappeared” from the facilities.

There was a ban on exports of rice for the past two years. The ban was lifted on March 16, 2012 a few months after the rice was confiscated. The local market was flooded with rice stolen from Jacob.

1,041 – More than one thousand forty one documents

Were submitted to the prosecution proving Jacob’s innocence. To date, the prosecution did not submit any evidence of their suspicions.

More than 24 Hearings Scheduled.

At the hearing on September 23, 2011, the judge ordered the release of Jacob based on the evidence submitted by the defense. The prosecution failed to submit any evidence. Five days later, on September 29, 2011, the judge rescinded his decision, an unprecedented move even in Bolivia. A few weeks later the judge was promoted and a new judge was assigned to the case. After several postponements the judge recused himself from the case. Currently there is no judge assigned to Jacobs case.

Jacob Ostreicher – incarcerated in Palmasola prison. Santa Cruz Bolivia

In December of 2010, Jacob traveled to Bolivia to take over management of an agricultural venture that was mismanaged by a local agent.

The plan was to harvest enough rice to create a surplus in Bolivia by flooding the local market, thus resulting in the government lifting the ban on rice exports. The end goal was 500,000,000 (500 million) pounds of rice harvested twice a year (for a total of close to 1,000,000,000 pounds annually).

During the first harvest, which netted 50,000,000 pounds, Jacob caused quite a stir when trying to purchase 500,000, 100 lb., bags to store the rice. Such an order was unprecedented in Bolivia and most vendors thought he was a con man trying to rip them off. In addition, during the harvesting season, all the trucks in the surrounding cities were working exclusively for Jacob, transporting the rice from the farms to the 8 largest storage facilities in the area which became full to the brim with rice. Jacob employed over 200 Bolivian people.

An American capitalist was going to feed the entire country of Bolivia single handedly utilizing free market methods.

Desperate to stop Jacob by any means (Bolivia is a socialist country), they started investigating all the properties and by chance found that one of the properties had been sold to the local agent (who no longer worked for the company) by a man that was wanted in Brazil for a crime committed in the 1990’s..

On June 3, 2011 Jacob was arrested for “suspicion” of money laundering and criminal organization. No evidence was presented by the prosecution. Instead, the prosecutors claimed that one of the investors was under investigation in Switzerland.

The plan had worked. Jacob was in prison and work at all his farms screeched to a halt.
50,000,000 pounds of rice disappeared.

After countless hearings which were continuously suspended, after providing legal documentation to refute the “suspicion” of money laundering, after providing official documentation from the Swiss Federal Police and Interpol proving that the investor is NOT under investigation and after failure by the prosecution to present any evidence to support their “suspicions”, the judge granted Jacob his freedom only to reverse his decision 5 days later.

After reversing his decision, the judge was promoted and a new judge was assigned to the case. The new judge recused himself from the case after five hearings. Currently there is no judge assigned to the case

Jacob is in prison for 11 months with no proof of any wrong doing.