A B.C. man accused of bilking thousands of mainly seniors worldwide of US$13 million through a fake sweepstakes scheme has moved a step closer to extradition to the U.S. to face fraud charges.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge granted a federal Justice Derpatment application for committal for Alexander Quaglia on Dec. 1 in a decision released on Tuesday.

Quaglia was immediately ordered into custody to await surrender to the U.S. under Canada’s Extradition Act.

But Justice Kevin Loo told Quaglia he wouldn’t be handed over until expiry of the 30-day appeal period and that he could apply for bail.

That same day, Quaglia filed an appeal in the B.C. Court of Appeal and applied for and was granted bail, according to the Appeal Court registry.

A hearing date for the appeal has yet to be scheduled.

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