Kobi says he was terrified
Kobi Alexander will be sentenced by an American court this month for backdating stock options in his former company, Comverse Technology.
American-Israeli businessman Kobi Alexander has insisted that he fled to Namibia because he was terrified after learning that he was the second most-wanted man by the US after Osama bin Laden.
This is contained in a letter in which Alexander is pleading for leniency before he will be sentenced later this month in the United States.
Alexander, who fled the US and spent a decade in Namibia just as he was about to be charged for masterminding a multimillion-dollar stock option fraud, has begged the court for leniency.
Alexander, 64, returned to New York from Namibia in August last year after fleeing in 2006.
Alexander had faced 35 criminal counts in 2006. But upon his return to the US he pleaded guilty to a single offence of backdating stock options.
He will be sentenced on 23 February and could face up to 10 years in prison.
However Alexander, his lawyer and even some former colleagues are now appealing for leniency.
According to Bloomberg, Alexander said in a 19-page letter to US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis that it was hard for him to fully explain why he went to Namibia and it was even more difficult to explain why he stayed away so long.
“I could only tell you that after I got there, I was even more terrified when I learned that my name was next to Osama bin Laden as the second worst fugitive wanted by the United States,” Alexander wrote in his letter.
He said although he was consumed by the case for over 10 years he did not have a good explanation for what he did.
“I am not a rich, big shot who was greedy in business and then arrogantly ran away rather than face my punishment.”
Alexander's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, also wrote a 20-page letter to the judge on Alexander's behalf, reports Bloomberg.
“In almost 40 years of practice, I do not believe I have ever been involved in a case in which the defendant has been so publicly vilified when, in truth, he is one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met.”
Brafman urged the judge to impose a term of between 18 and 24 months in prison and said his client had already paid the US Securities and Exchange Commission a US$6 million civil penalty.
Alexander separately paid US$60 million to settle a civil suit.
When Alexander appeared in court last year and entered a guilty plea Garaufis blasted Alexander for only showing up after federal prosecutors agreed to drop dozens of other charges against him.
“After 10 years of waiting for him to show up, he did come back but not with empty hands,” the judge said. “He came back with a deal.”
The judge denied him bail.
Alexander, the former CEO of Comverse Technology, was indicted on 35 counts for allegedly engineering a 15-year scheme manipulating millions of dollars' worth of Comverse stock options before fleeing to Namibia.
Alexander was arrested in Namibia in September 2006 and was out on bail the following month.
ELLANIE SMIT
This is contained in a letter in which Alexander is pleading for leniency before he will be sentenced later this month in the United States.
Alexander, who fled the US and spent a decade in Namibia just as he was about to be charged for masterminding a multimillion-dollar stock option fraud, has begged the court for leniency.
Alexander, 64, returned to New York from Namibia in August last year after fleeing in 2006.
Alexander had faced 35 criminal counts in 2006. But upon his return to the US he pleaded guilty to a single offence of backdating stock options.
He will be sentenced on 23 February and could face up to 10 years in prison.
However Alexander, his lawyer and even some former colleagues are now appealing for leniency.
According to Bloomberg, Alexander said in a 19-page letter to US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis that it was hard for him to fully explain why he went to Namibia and it was even more difficult to explain why he stayed away so long.
“I could only tell you that after I got there, I was even more terrified when I learned that my name was next to Osama bin Laden as the second worst fugitive wanted by the United States,” Alexander wrote in his letter.
He said although he was consumed by the case for over 10 years he did not have a good explanation for what he did.
“I am not a rich, big shot who was greedy in business and then arrogantly ran away rather than face my punishment.”
Alexander's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, also wrote a 20-page letter to the judge on Alexander's behalf, reports Bloomberg.
“In almost 40 years of practice, I do not believe I have ever been involved in a case in which the defendant has been so publicly vilified when, in truth, he is one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met.”
Brafman urged the judge to impose a term of between 18 and 24 months in prison and said his client had already paid the US Securities and Exchange Commission a US$6 million civil penalty.
Alexander separately paid US$60 million to settle a civil suit.
When Alexander appeared in court last year and entered a guilty plea Garaufis blasted Alexander for only showing up after federal prosecutors agreed to drop dozens of other charges against him.
“After 10 years of waiting for him to show up, he did come back but not with empty hands,” the judge said. “He came back with a deal.”
The judge denied him bail.
Alexander, the former CEO of Comverse Technology, was indicted on 35 counts for allegedly engineering a 15-year scheme manipulating millions of dollars' worth of Comverse stock options before fleeing to Namibia.
Alexander was arrested in Namibia in September 2006 and was out on bail the following month.
ELLANIE SMIT
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article