Fugitive Trader Tracked to German Hotel Room

Missing money manager Martin Frankel, accused of embezzling millions of dollars to fund his reclusive yet luxurious lifestyle, was arrested Saturday in Germany, the FBI said.

As authorities took him into custody, Frankel told them, “You got me,” FBI Special Agent Michael Wolf said.

Authorities found Frankel in the Hotel Prem in Hamburg, Wolf said. He was apprehended without incident and charged with money laundering and wire fraud. It could be several months before Frankel can be extradited for trial in Connecticut, officials said.

Seized from his room were a computer and its contents and an undetermined amount of cash and diamonds, Wolf said. He could not say whether Frankel had been trading from his room.

Also taken into custody was a 35-year-old U.S. citizen, Cynthia Allison, who was using the alias Susan Kelly, Wolf said. He did not elaborate on Allison’s relationship with Frankel. She was detained for questioning but had not been charged.

The arrest ends an international manhunt that began when Frankel, 44, disappeared more than four months ago.

Authorities in the United States issued an arrest warrant for Frankel on July 14. He has been missing since May 5, when a fire alarm alerted firefighters to an emergency at his mansion in Greenwich. They found a blazing file cabinet and two fireplaces stuffed with burning documents.

Insurance company regulators said Frankel’s unlicensed brokerage--apparently run out of the $3-million Greenwich mansion--had siphoned money from several insurance companies.

Six were in the South--three in Mississippi, and one each in Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma--and one was in Missouri. Regulators say Frankel stole at least $218 million from the insurers, but a lawsuit filed by some of the companies puts the loss at $915 million.