NEW YORK, April 20 (UPI) -- With the help of a former stock swindler, FBI agents in New York arrested a New Zealand man for allegedly running a phony hedge fund.
Derek Turner, an alleged Bermuda-based confidence man with an office in Melville, N.Y., was arrested Monday on Long Island, Newsday reported Wednesday.
The agents were aided in the operation by Barry Minkow, who served a seven-year prison term for masterminding a $300 million stock fraud in California, the newspaper said quoting sources. The report said Minkow is now a minister, who helps track down stock swindlers, many of whom prey on church groups.
Turner's Turning International Ltd. allegedly had promised investors returns of 40 percent a year. Turner pleaded not guilty at his arraignment but was held without bail pending further hearings.
