Samuel Israel III

Samuel Israel III was a hedge fund manager who lied to potential clients in order to raise funds. Israel lived beyond his means and used fake accountants to hide $55 trading losses between 1996 and 2002. Two years later Israel withdrew $161m. The following year his company closed and Israel was charged with fraud and misappropriation to which he entered a guilty plea and filed for bankruptcy. In April 2008 Israel was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. On the day that he was due to surrender, 9th June 2008, Israel parked his car on Bear Mountain Bridge north of New York City and wrote “Suicide is Painless” in the dust on the bonnet. No body was found and rumours of pseudocide began. Israel hid in a campsite for a month until he gave himself up after he was featured on America’s Most Wanted.

Further reading: Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street’s Wildest Con by Guy Lawson. 

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/samuel-israel-the-ponzi-schemer-you-may-not-remember-2012-6#today-israel-is-serving-time-in-the-same-prison-as-bernie-madoff-17

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Israel_III


Pseudocides executed to avoid business debts: John Darwin, Marcus Schrenker, Harry Gordon,  Kankanit Angkinand

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