FBI Arrests Fugitive Embezzler in Japan
A financial planner who disappeared with $25 million and left notes of apology for his former clients was arrested as a fugitive Saturday in Japan after being expelled from Taiwan, FBI agents said.
Henry Gherman, 52, has been a fugitive since August on charges of embezzlement and mail fraud.
When he was arrested by FBI agents as he got off a plane in Tokyo, Gherman was carrying $20,000 to $30,000 in U.S. money and “a sizable amount of Taiwanese currency,” said FBI agent William Wells, who is in charge of the agency’s Miami office.
May Affect 50 Investors
Gherman is accused of masterminding a scheme that may have swindled nearly 50 investors, U.S. Atty. Dexter Lehtinen said in a federal complaint filed Aug. 29.
Gherman sent handwritten notes of apology to his clients when he dropped out of sight Aug. 10.
In addition to individual investors, Gherman had a “longstanding pattern of embezzlement” from about 25 professional associations handling pension funds and other assets for members, Lehtinen said.
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