A US judge is expected to decide next month whether a Florida man will be extradited to Thailand to face charges of kidnapping a fellow American in Phuket.
Shawn Abraham Shaw, 43, maintains he is innocent of the charges brought against him by Thai authorities. His defence lawyer says the charges were laid after a business deal went sour.
Defence lawyer Jason Kreiss also said his client feared he would not get a fair trial in Thailand since the country was now under a "junta military dictatorship".
The alleged victim, a millionaire who divides his time between Las Vegas and Phuket, did not file a complaint until 40 days after the alleged incident in December 2013, Mr Kreiss told a hearing in Palm Beach, Florida last Wednesday.
Thai authorities sent a provisional arrest warrant to the United States in October last year.
The alleged victim, identified only by his initials in previous court hearings, was identified in the latest hearing as Antonio Accornero, the Palm Beach Sun Sentinel reported. He alleges that Mr Shaw drugged his drink in a Phuket nightclub, tied him up and drove him around before demanding US$3 million in ransom.
Mr Shaw has been in jail since he was arrested on Nov 26 at the Palm Beach condominium where he lived.
He and his lawyer say he is being set up by a powerful tycoon who has close connections to high-level figures in Thailand.
The two Americans first met when they worked out at the same Las Vegas gym, Mr Kreiss told the court. In 2013 Mr Shaw approached Mr Accornero about a potentially lucrative business venture that would involve cashing in casino chips that tourists took home, in exchange for a percentage of the takings. They discussed the idea further when Mr Shaw and his fiancee were guests at Mr Accornero's home in Phuket in December 2013.
"This was a business deal that went sour; it's a fabricated prosecution," Mr Kreiss said.
In a sworn statement to Thai police, Mr Accornero said Mr Shaw held him captive overnight in a house on Phuket and they negotiated a $3-million ransom — though he said he talked his captor down to $2 million. The money was to be paid when Mr Shaw returned to the US, he said.
Mr Kreiss told the judge it was absurd to believe that Mr Accornero was able to negotiate "an IOU on a kidnapping" while captive and supposedly under Mr Shaw's complete control.
The lawyer also said it made no sense that the "terrified" victim failed to report the alleged incident to authorities for more than 40 days.
Mr Kreiss also said that lawyers for the two Americans in the US continued to try to negotiate a casino chip deal for about a month after Mr Shaw returned from Thailand.
Mr Shaw's fiancee Dawn Pasqualucci, who accompanied him to Phuket but is not accused of any wrongdoing, testified in January that Mr Shaw told her of a threat on the couple's lives. The threat allegedly was made after Mr Shaw claimed he found some incriminating information on Mr Accornero's computer.
Ms Pasqualucci said she believed she and Mr Shaw were followed and intimidated by private investigators, allegedly hired by the victim, after they returned to New York City, where they lived at the time.
Court records show that Ms Pasqualucci went to the FBI office in Newark, New Jersey, on Jan 23, 2014, to report her fears. She told agents she suspected Mr Accornero was involved in some form of human trafficking. There is no indication that the FBI began any investigation.
Ms Pasqualucci said she and Shaw moved to Palm Beach a few months later because they were still scared.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing last week, Mr Kreiss also questioned why the alleged victim had not participated in any of the extradition proceedings.
Assistant US Attorney Stephanie Evans, who is handling the extradition case for the State Department, told US Magistrate Judge William Matthewman there would be serious diplomatic consequences if the US did not honour the terms of its international treaty with Thailand.
The treaty calls for both countries to turn over crime suspects to face trial so long as the requesting country has enough evidence to file charges.
Prosecutors assured the judge that, despite Shaw's fears, the charges he faces in Thailand are not punishable by the death penalty, but he could face a long prison term.
The judge said that if he agreed Shaw could be extradited, Secretary of State John Kerry would then make the final decision on whether to actually turn him over to Thai authorities.