CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - The former head of the leading supplier of body armor to the U.S. military, facing federal charges in an alleged fraud scheme, may be freed after two months in jail but only under house arrest, a judge has ruled.
And instead of the usual bail posting, David H. Brooks must convince prosecutors that they have full control of his millions in assets so he cannot use them to flee, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert said Friday.
Prosecutors have accused the founder and former chief executive of DHB Industries Inc. of refusing to disclose the location of millions of dollars held overseas, including $4 million recently sent to spiritual leaders in the African nation of Senegal.
The spiritual leaders were paid to pray for Brooks' acquittal, according to testimony at a hearing Friday, but Assistant U.S. Attorney John Martin characterized the expenditures as 'quasi-religious.'
Brooks' attorney, Paul Shechtman, would say only that 'no money was sent to Senegal to hide assets.'
If an agreement can be finalized, Brooks could be released within two weeks, Martin said.
Brooks, 53, has pleaded not guilty to charges of insider trading, fraud and tax evasion.
No trial date has been set.
Prosecutors say he garnered more than $185 million by falsely inflating the value of the inventory of DHB's top product, a vest designed to withstand rifle fire and shrapnel, and then selling company stock after the doctored accounting boosted its price. He is also accused of failing to report bonus payments and using company money for lavish personal expenses.
He resigned from DHB in July 2006.
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