From High Finance to Life on the Lam… newyorktimes.com
JUNE 5, 2009, 11:30 AM
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Marcus Schrenker, a former money manager accused of misleading his investors, is expected to plead guilty on Friday to faking his own death in a plane crash. The occasion has inspired Bloomberg News to take a look at the common mistakes that financiers make when they turn into fugitives.
Neither Mr. Schrenker (pictured above) nor Sam Israel, the hedge fund swindler who staged a suicide, managed to elude the authorities for very long — something Bloomberg chalks up to “lack of preparation for the rigors of life on the lam.”
As Duane Chapman, the star of A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” rather poetically put it: “A criminal’s life has nothing but ups and downs, whereas a white-collar criminal has never seen the dark side, so when he enters that realm, he is lost.”
What are the do’s and don’ts for financial types hoping to make themselves disappear?
First of all, faking one’s own death rarely throws the authorities off for long if there’s no body left behind, Bloomberg says. Having lots of cash is essential, and heading for a campground that doesn’t require identification can work, for a time.
Leaving maps behind with certain pages torn out — something Mr. Schrenker reportedly did — certainly doesn’t help.