Fake billionaire, Harvard MBA grad Costello denied bail after judge calls him 'economic danger'

Butcher wrote that the grounds itself is the slightest important origin successful his determination to support Costello successful jail.

But, helium added, "when taken unneurotic with the important [prison] condemnation Defendant faces if convicted, the Court finds Defendant has a superior inducement to flee."

Costello's lawyer Cindy Muro did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Costello, who has ties to Washington, Las Vegas and California, is owed successful San Diego tribunal aboriginal Tuesday for different proceeding related to his expected transportation to Washington authorities to look trial.

He is accused successful the indictment of swindling thousands of investors and others successful analyzable schemes involving penny stocks, ammunition companies and a banking steadfast that did concern with 3 unrelated cannabis companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Costello and different man, 44-year-old Radford, Virginia, nonmigratory David Ferraro, successful a civilian lawsuit alleging related fraudulent conduct.

Among different allegations, Costello is accused of utilizing societal media sites to coordinate mendacious claims astir publically traded stocks to manipulate their prices truthful helium could profit.

As portion of the alleged scams, Costello falsely claimed to beryllium worthy a cardinal dollars oregon much and to person served 2 tours successful Iraq arsenic a subordinate of the peculiar forces, wherever helium purportedly was changeable twice. He besides claimed to person "managed wealth for affluent individuals, including a Saudi sheikh," and that "he had 14 years of acquisition connected Wall Street," the indictment said.

"None of that is true," a property merchandise by U.S. Attorney's Office for Washington said.

Prosecutors person said that Costello agreed done his then-lawyer to surrender successful precocious September to look the indictment aft being informed it was acceptable to beryllium filed. But helium ne'er showed up arsenic agreed astatine the FBI's bureau successful San Diego, and went connected the lam.

On Oct. 4, an FBI SWAT squad recovered Costello successful a distant country adjacent San Diego, carrying a backpack containing tens of thousands of dollars successful U.S. and Mexican currency, six one-ounce golden bars, banking cards and checkbooks and a Washington authorities driver's licence successful the sanction of "Christian Bolter."

Prosecutors said the FBI was capable to find Costello by tracking him connected his compartment phone.

Costello pleaded not blameworthy during an arraignment successful San Diego national tribunal a week later. He past appeared earlier Butcher connected Oct. 18 for a detention hearing, wherever prosecutors asked the justice to support him locked up.

Butcher successful his bid Monday said that prosecutors had "demonstrated by wide and convincing grounds that [Costello] is an economical information to the assemblage and that nary information oregon operation of conditions volition reasonably guarantee the information of immoderate different idiosyncratic and the community."

The justice cited Costello's alleged possession of "multiple documents matching" the driver's licence bearing his photograph but the sanction of Bolter erstwhile helium was nabbed, arsenic good arsenic different items that Costello could usage to fly prosecution again.