Fugitive: Securities Fraud Broker On The Lam

A former Credit Suisse broker who is accused of a $1 billion fraud has gone missing and the authorities are calling him a fugitive. This past Friday, federal prosecutors said that Julian Tozlov, 35, was last seen on May 9, leaving his 225 Fifth Avenue apartment. Tozlov had been on $3 million bail and was wearing an electronic monitoring device around his ankle.

The Wall Street Journal explains that Tozlov, along with another former broker Eric Butler were charged with conspiracy, securities fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. The pair allegedly lied "to clients about placing more than $1 billion of their money in mortgage-related securities," while their clients thought their money was being placed in securities related to federally guaranteed student loans (mortgage-related securities brought in higher commissions). When he was originally charged last year, Tozlov was in his native Bulgaria but agreed to return to the U.S. to face charges. Lawyer Ben Brafman said, "We have not been able to contact Mr. Tzolov for several weeks now, and I have no idea where he is."

It's unclear how Tozlov escaped monitoring—though he was allowed to "leave his apartment...for two one-hour periods to go to the gym and to go shopping"—and he also turned in his passport. The Daily News reports that the feds are seizing his condo and that the friends who signed his bond are "also on the hook." His trial was to start on June 29, but prosecutors are asking for a 60-day postponement.