A fugitive hedge fund manager who was convicted in the U.S. last year of defrauding investors out of $78 million was rearrested yesterday in Greece where he has been hiding from U.S. authorities.
Following his conviction in January 2006, Angelo Haligiannis, 35, who ran New York-based hedge fund Sterling Waters Group, cut his ankle bracelet, left it in an abandoned Jeep Cherokee in midtown Manhattan, and fled the U.S. He had been facing up to a decade behind bars for running a Ponzi scheme.
Haligiannis was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with new crimes unrelated to previous charges filed in New York, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals service.
Last month, Haligiannis was seen by someone he had scammed in the lobby of a luxury hotel in Crete. The man reported him to the local police, but Greek authorities refused to hold Haligiannis, saying that a Greek citizen—which he is—cannot face extradition to the U.S. for white-collar crimes. Then, this month, another alleged victim, this one located in Greece, filed a fraud complaint and Haligiannis was re-arrested.
There is no word on whether Haligiannis will face extradition to the U.S. this time around.