Fake billionaire fugitive had gold bars, $60K in cash, Mexican pesos and phony ID when caught

Prosecutors connected Tuesday asked a California national justice to jailhouse without bail a caller fugitive accused of a brazen $35 cardinal fraud that progressive him falsely telling investors helium was a billionaire, a Harvard MBA, and a peculiar forces seasoned who was wounded doubly successful Iraq.

An FBI SWAT squad caught the fugitive, Justin Costello, successful a distant country adjacent San Diego connected Oct. 4. He was carrying a backpack loaded with six one-ounce golden bars worthy $12,000, U.S. currency worthy $60,000, different $10,000 successful Mexican pesos and banking cards and checkbooks, prosecutors said successful a tribunal filing.

Costello, 42, besides had a receipt for a pre-paid telephone fig successful the backpack, on with a driver's licence with his photograph and the fake sanction "Christian Bolter," the filing revealed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California cited the backpack's contents and different factors successful the filing arsenic it urged a justice to remand Costello to jailhouse pending trial. Prosecutors argued helium is "a superior formation hazard and a information to the community."

They noted that Costello failed to surrender to the FBI's San Diego bureau arsenic helium had agreed done his lawyer connected Sept. 29. He was acceptable to look what helium had been informed was a caller indictment successful national tribunal successful Washington authorities connected a slew of charges related to schemes involving penny stocks, ammunition companies, and cannabis businesses.

Instead, helium "became a fugitive," prosecutors wrote.

"The FBI tried to way Costello by his known compartment telephone numbers but were unsuccessful," prosecutors wrote. "It is believed Costello took countersurveillance measures to forestall being tracked connected devices registered to those numbers."

The FBI yet "was capable to way Costello done determination accusation received from the theft betterment work for the Alfa Romeo conveyance helium was driving," the filing revealed.

The FBI SWAT tracked that car to a distant country of El Cajon, California, wherever they saw him walking astir with his backpack, the filing said.

When agents arrested him, Costello "stated helium was amazed agents had recovered him due to the fact that helium turned his telephone off."

Costello besides told the agents helium had not surrendered arsenic agreed "because helium precocious had a changeable and needed to recover."

"Costello said that helium could person outrun the SWAT agents but for the stroke," the filing said. "Costello admitted that helium was the idiosyncratic charged successful the Indictment and encouraged agents to 'Google' him to work astir the case."

"Costello was apt referring to the precise important media sum of some his transgression charges and
subsequent formation from prosecution," prosecutors wrote successful a footnote, which links to CNBC's nonfiction astir him published past week.

Prosecutors said the FBI soon aft learned that the golden successful the backpack was portion of a larger quantity of gold, worthy $94,000, that Costello purchased successful April "using wealth helium had stolen from a banking client."

Investigators person determined that since mid-September, Costello stopped utilizing his lone known idiosyncratic slope relationship for idiosyncratic expenses, and alternatively was utilizing aggregate firm accounts successful an evident effort to screen his tracks online, prosecutors said.

"The value of the evidence" against Costello successful the pending lawsuit — wherever is helium charged with ligament fraud and securities fraud — "is beardown and heavy documented," they added.

Costello, who has ties to La Jolla, California, and Las Vegas, is accused of scamming thousands of investors and others retired of millions of dollars by making mendacious claims that companies helium controlled had plans to bargain 10 different firms.

He besides is accused of utilizing 1 of his companies, Pacific Banking Corp., to divert astatine slightest $3.6 cardinal from 3 marijuana companies that were clients to payment himself and different companies helium owned.

Prosecutors person said that Costello utilized astir $42,000 of wealth allegedly scammed from investors to wage for costs associated with his wedding. The lawsuit featured a barroom and crystal sculpture with the iconic James Bond "007" movie logo, arsenic good arsenic a belly-dancing show by his bride.

Costello allegedly duped investors with his gangly tales of being a billionaire, an Ivy League grad and an Iraq veteran, prosecutors said. They noted that nary of the claims were true.

He besides "falsely claimed that 2 '[l]ocal titans' of the Seattle concern assemblage were 'supporting' him," prosecutors wrote successful their tribunal filing. They did not place those concern leaders by name.

Costello is owed to look successful San Diego national tribunal connected Tuesday. He is expected to soon beryllium transferred to Washington authorities to look the indictment successful U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

A lawyer who is representing him successful civilian litigation by 1 of the marijuana companies helium is accused of swindling did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Costello besides faces a civilian suit by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bureau filed it connected the aforesaid time that transgression charges against him were unsealed. The SEC's suit mostly tracks the claims successful the transgression indictment against Costello.