Authorities confirmed that Turner is being held in the maximum security Nassau County Correctional Center in New York after he was charged with defrauding investors of a hedge fund out of US $1 million.
But prosecutors actually plan to pursue additional charges against him, alleging that he actually swindled up to $4 million, according to his attorney Joseph Conway.
But Turner, the managing director of Turning Enterprises International Ltd., has maintained his innocence. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Central Islip on fraud charges. He pleaded not guilty, but was held without bail by U.S. Magistrate James Orenstein, pending future hearings.
Turner, a native of New Zealand who lives in Nassau with his wife and children, was one of the contenders who wanted to build a futuristic replacement for the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks caused it to be leveled.
According to information that was revealed in several media reports, FBI agents busted the securities trader at his office in Long Island, New York on April 16, with the help of a reformed conman, Barry Minkow, who allegedly managed to obtain inside information.
The FBI maintains that Turner swindled a father and son out of $1 million after he promised them a 40 percent annual return on their investment. Court documents stated that he assured the pair he had $500 million in the hedge fund, but it only actually contained $300,000.
Turner’s attorney had said that he planned to apply for bail at a hearing Wednesday and then craft a legal strategy to help fight the fraud charges.
According to information that has been released, sources said Minkow, an ex-con man turned religious minister who now runs a company that tracks down fraudsters, was the one who first contacted FBI agents several months ago about suspicions of Turner’s company.
Turner, who is said to own significant real estate in The Bahamas and was even in a legal battle with Iranian born Mohammed Harajchi, was in the international spotlight a few years ago after he unveiled a plan to create what would have been the world’s tallest building in the spot where the World Trade Center once stood. He even had a local company build an elaborate web site to promote the screwy idea.
From: The Bahama Journal
