A banker on the run in the US was captured by police in a routine traffic check.
The fugitive is alleged to have faked his death in order to avoid charges of defrauding investors of $21 million.
Aubrey Price, 47, has last been seen boarding a ferry in Key West, Florida, shortly after telling acquaintances that he was planning to jump overboard after losing money on financial trades. No body was found but a Georgia judge subsequently declared him dead.
His story unravelled when police stopped his pick-up truck because the windows had very heavy tint.
Not only had Price, who was also a pastor, stayed in his home state (the scene of the crime) but he also carried with him several types of identification with different names and photographs.
FBI records indicated that Price was a fugitive wanted for allegedly embezzling $21 million from people who invested in the Montgomery Bank & Trust. Price had taken a controlling interest in the institution in 2010.
According to the indictment, from January 2011 to June 2012, Price embezzled investors’ funds while providing bogus account statements that indicated their money was deposited at a large financial services firm. He was accused of moving $21 million into a “dummy” clearing firm to hide his thefts and losses from investments.
After going on the run, Price changed his appearance by growing a beard and long hair.
The FBI thought that he might have fled the country and concentrated their efforts on Venezuela and Guatemala, where he had previously been a missionary and had built churches.
Now he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, according to the US attorney’s office.
Investigators are also trying to establish if he is still has assets that they can confiscate to help compensate his alleged victims.
