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He Hid In Namibia For 10 Years And Tried Self-Reform. US Judge Jails Israeli Fugitive For Securities Fraud

He Hid In Namibia For 10 Years And Tried Self-Reform. US Judge Jails Israeli Fugitive For Securities Fraud

Ten years a fugitive, Jacob “Kobi” Alexander returned to the U.S. from Namibia hoping for a plea deal, only to be jailed by an irate federal judge who deemed him to be a flight risk, New York Daily News reported.

Alexander is the former CEO of Comverse Technology, the company responsible for the creating voicemail. It was considered one of the most successful companies during the ’90s tech boom, and survived until 2013 when it was bought out by Verint Systems, according to International Business Times.

An Israeli citizen and legal U.S. resident, Alexander fled to Africa in 2006 with his wife and three young children after learning that he was under investigation by the feds for a scheme to backdate stock options.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud in Brooklyn Federal Court and was promptly thrown in jail by Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who refused to release him on $25 million bail.

Garaufis ridiculed the argument by defense lawyer Ben Brafman that the defendant had returned to the U.S. “voluntarily” and could be trusted to return to court for sentencing in December, NYDailyNews reported:

“It’s not voluntary, it’s bargained for,” Garaufis said, waving a copy of Alexander’s plea agreement. “He came in here with this plea agreement which protects him in many ways, including his assets, from further risk. He hung out in Namibia for 10 years with an open indictment in New York.”

The U.S. government accused Alexander of masterminding an alleged scheme that allowed him and others to buy stock at deep discounts, robbing shareholders out of millions of dollars. In September 2006, a federal grand jury indicted him, CNBC reported.

In June 2006, prosecutors say Alexander took his family to his native Israel on vacation as prosecutors were finalizing their fraud case. Then they flew to Germany, then to Namibia in July 2006. The purpose of Alexander’s travel, the government said, was to avoid criminal prosecution.

A federal grand jury eventually indicted him on 35 counts including conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering for a 15-year scheme to manipulate Comverse options. Attorney

Brafman argued that because Alexander left the U.S. before he was charged, he did not flee. He was not a flight risk and should be freed on $25 million bond pending his sentencing.

“It would be pointless for Mr. Alexander to come to the U.S. after spending 10 years in Namibia in order to plead guilty and only then to flee,” Brafman wrote, adding that Alexander, 64, could have stayed in Namibia “forever.”

Prosecutors painted a different picture, saying “the government is confident that the defendant could find his next Namibia should he so choose.”

Namibia does not follow U.S. extradition treaty guidelines, according to International Business Times.

This has given the country a reputation as a relatively safe haven for fugitives from justice.

At least two other Namibian residents wanted for crimes in other countries have resisted extradition, including convicted Italian mafioso Vito Palazzolo and Boris Bannai of Poland, Mail & Guardian reported.

Alexander is headed to a maximum-security facility between now and his sentencing on Dec. 16. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

“Maybe he would go out and hide out in a cave or go to another country where he could live more comfortably … than Namibia,” Garaufis said. “It doesn’t matter what you say. This is a very smart man (Alexander) who’s made millions and millions of dollars. He’s sizing up the situation on this side of the bench, so spare me, I wasn’t born yesterday.”

After the hearing, Brafman told CNBC, “We are bitterly disappointed by the judge’s ruling, but he’s the judge and I’m not.”

There is one known successful extradition of a foreign national from Namibia, Mail & guardian reported in 2014. Lebanese businessman Fadi Ayoub was returned to France in September 2012 to face a rape charge. He fled France in 1993 after skipping bail and arrived in Namibia in 1999.

Palazzolo, aka Roberto von Palace Kolbatschenko, arrived in Namibia in 2006 after staving off extradition from South Africa for more than 20 years. He bought a house and at least one farm in Namibia.

While living in Namibia, Alexander paid back millions in fines to the U.S. to resolve many of the lawsuits initiated during his trial, International Business Times reported. He was initially order to pay out $60 million to Comverse. In 2010, he settled for $53 million with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in what was considered to be the one of the largest settlements ever in an options back-dating case.

While living in the Namibia he contributed to the country by opening soup kitchens with his wife, Hanna Alexander. They provided food for thousands of children. They also donated to Namibian educational programs and helped create housing in many of the nation’s impoverished townships.

“Notwithstanding his departure from Namibia, Mr. Alexander and his family will continue their charitable work in Namibia,” Brafman said in a statement. “Since 2007, the Alexander family has financed and operated soup kitchens in Namibia that have served more than 750,000 nutritious meals to children in Katutura and Kuisebmond. These soup kitchens will continue to operate, employing seven people and feeding 700 children each day.”

Comverse Technology survived until 2013 when it was bought out by Verint Systems.