In a stirring tribute to a notoriously frustrating game, the alleged ringleader of a $20 million fraud scheme was captured on a golf driving range last week, authorities said. He had been a fugitive for more than two years.
Law enforcement officers arrested 52-year-old Jacob Kim of Palisades Park, N.J., while he was "taking swings" at the Alley Pond Golf Center in Queens, N.Y., according to the Department of Justice. Arresting officers reported finding $48,000 in cash—enough for quite a few range tokens—in his pocket.
Kim had been running from the law since he learned that he was being investigated by the FBI in November 2005, according to a DOJ press release. In the years since, Kim has lived in different locations and used the popular 1980s action-movie fake-ID-and-wig approach to avoid capture, the release said.
Still, Kim was apparently unable to resist the temptation to work on his flop shot, even if it meant blowing his cover. (Sportscaster Jim Nantz could not be reached for comment.)
Kim was indicted on bank fraud charges in June 2007. The indictment alleges that the company he owned, American Macro Growth, helped clients get multiple lines of credit by repeatedly using the same properties as collateral.
From the Department of Justice press release:
In one instance, the Indictment alleges, an AMG client used less than $300,000 of equity in a Palisades Park property to obtain approximately $2,137,000 in credit from nine different banks. According to the Indictment, the scheme effectively stripped the banks of security for the loans.
Prosecutors also allege that the company misrepresented its clients' earnings and submitted false tax returns.
According to the DOJ, Kim looked at the arresting officers "like it was over" when they finally caught up with him.
Executives being hunted by the FBI may want to take up less conspicuous leisure activities—such as laser tag or Internet gambling—while they are on the lam.
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