Judge Grants $10 Million Bail For Orthodox Defendant In $100+ Million Real Estate Fraud Case

New York, N.Y. -- A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Thursday that a the Orthodox Virginia businessman arrested last month on fraud charges and detained by the government can be released on a $10 million bond. About thirty people attended the bail hearing, which lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Ten relatives and friends of the defendant, agreed to sign the bond. Each of the 10 will have to be interviewed by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan to determine that they are financially responsible.

Shortly after the accused was apprehended in Norfolk, Virgiania, a federal magistrate there ordered that he remain in custody. Because of his frequent overseas travel and his foreign contacts, the defendant presented a risk of fleeing the country to avoid prosecution, Magistrate Tommy Miller said in his order.

Attorneys for the accused, who has been held at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, asked that he be released on a $5 million bond. As part of their proposed bond, the defendant's father-in-law agreed to put up two properties that he owns in Baltimore, including his primary home, as security. The accused's gardener, also agreed to put up her Norfolk home as security, according to the court filing.

The conditions for his release require that the accused swindler be confined to his home and be subject to electronic monitoring. According to his attorney, he is allowed to leave home under certain conditions but must be accompanied by a security guard.