The US Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that prosecutors in the United States have charged a dual US-Dutch citizen with securities fraud, wire fraud, and a $14 billion false bid in connection with numerous scams involving his company, Xcalibur Aerospace Ltd.

"From in or about August 2019 until in or about November 2020, Melville Ten Cate, the defendant, executed fraudulent schemes designed to induce others to invest in, or otherwise transfer money to, Xcalibur and Ten Cate," prosecutors said.

"First, Ten Cate attempted to secure $500 million in debt financing from US banks and third-party debt issuers. In doing so, Ten Cate materially misrepresented Xcalibur’s business activities and finances to the banks and other potential investors, including by falsely claiming that Xcalibur’s financial records had been audited by an international accounting firm, that Xcalibur had outside investors, and that Xcalibur had cash reserves of almost £9.8 billion."

He purchased ad space in a national newspaper beginning in November 2020, claiming that Xcalibur had acquired billions of dollars in financing and was launching a tender offer to acquire a multibillion-dollar US firm. Ten Cate's tender bid, which was never finished, was published in the newspaper.

Ten Cate, 53, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is charged with one count of tender offer fraud, one count of securities fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment on each count.