ZURICH (Reuters) – On Friday, a Swiss court charged the German financier Florian Homme with breach of trust and forging several documents in a fraud case that caused investors to lose millions.
The court said the 61-year-old former hedge fund manager had been sentenced in absentia and sentenced to 36 months in prison, half of which are suspended.
Authorities accused Home of running a market manipulation program to artificially improve the performance of its funds. This scam resulted in losses of at least $ 170 million for investors.
Homm disappeared from his luxury villa on the Spanish island of Mallorca in 2007 after, according to the US authorities, he had sold his private equity in Absolute Capital Management Holdings Ltd in the double-digit million range, which caused enormous losses for investors.
He was arrested in Italy in 2013 after Italian police followed Home’s ex-wife and son to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, where they met him, on the advice of the FBI. It is now believed that he lives in Germany.
Homm, a 2.01 meter long cigar smoker nicknamed “Steamroller”, has become a celebrity in his home country, as a symbol of greed and to save the Borussia Dortmund soccer team from bankruptcy. Some of his works were located in Switzerland.
In delivering the verdict on Friday, the Federal Criminal Court stated that the fact that the crimes were committed long ago and that the trial took a long time “resulted in a significant reduction in the sentence.”
The court sentenced Home to a fine of 120,000 Swiss francs ($ 131,047), which was also suspended.
The court stated that charges of trade fraud, treasonous administration and embezzlement have been dropped, indicating that these alleged crimes were committed in the United States and the statute of limitations has expired.
Home’s attorney could not be reached by phone or email for comment.
$ 1 = 0.9157 CHF Michael Shields report, edited by Susan Fenton
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