AP News, July 10th, 2007
Austrian authorities have arrested an investment banker wanted by the FBI who fled after being convicted of securities fraud in New York more than five years ago, police said Tuesday.
Michael Berger, a 35-year-old Austrian citizen, was arrested Friday afternoon while driving on a highway about 28 miles northeast of Salzburg, federal police spokesman Gerald Hesztera said.
According to information on the FBI's Web site, Berger pleaded guilty to charges of securities fraud in November 2000 but failed to appear at his sentencing hearing in March 2002.
Hesztera declined to provide details on how authorities were able to track Berger down.
Gerhard Jarosch, a spokesman for the Vienna public prosecutor's office, said Berger would be transferred shortly to the Austrian capital and held in detention there while awaiting trial.
"If he is an Austrian citizen, he can't be extradited to the United States or anywhere," Jarosch said.
While Hesztera said Berger was an Austrian citizen, the FBI's Web site indicates he is British. Under Austrian law, even if Berger held dual citizenship, his Austrian passport would exempt him from extradition, Jarosch said.
In 1995, Berger founded a company called Manhattan Investment Fund Ltd., a hedge fund opened primarily to offshore investors with a minimum of $250,000 to invest, the FBI said. He also established a subsidiary company open to U.S.-based investors.
Starting in September 1996, the value of the company's assets began to deteriorate significantly, according to the FBI. However, Berger concealed the losses by falsifying statements and other documents sent to clients and auditors. By the end of 1999, Berger had lost more than $400 million.
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On the Net:
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/fugitives/wcc/berger_mw.htm
