'Dead' American banker Aubrey Lee Price arrested in connection with multi-million dollar fraud case

A Florida judge declared former banker Aubrey Lee Price dead in 2012

Aubrey Lee Price pictured in an undated photo courtesy of the FBI (Reuters)

A former banker wanted by the FBI in relation to a multi-million dollar fraud case has been arrested...After being declared dead a year ago.

Authorities believe Aubrey Lee Price, 47, faked his own death to escape prosecution over allegations of embezzlement and fraud in connection with an investment scheme while he was the director of the Montgomery Bank & Trust.

After spending more than a year on the run, he was finally caught in a routine stop for a minor traffic violation in Brunswick, Georgia on Tuesday.

The FBI Lee confirmed Price had been captured, but did not provide further details about his arrest.

Price was last seen in June 2012 boarding a ferry boat in Key West, Florida, after sending a letter to his family saying he had lost millions of dollars and planned to kill himself by "jumping off a ferry boat".

"My depression and discouragement have driven me to deep anxiety, fear and shame. I am emotionally overwhelmed and incapable of continuing in this life," said a confession letter investigators believe was written by Price.

"I created false statements, covered up my losses and deceived and hurt the very people I was trying to help," he is alleged to have written.

A Florida judge declared him legally dead. But the FBI continued the search offering a reward of up to $20,000 (£12,000) for information leading to his arrest.

A complaint filed in a US federal court claimed that Price and others "raised approximately $40 (£24m) million from approximately 115 investors", and then mismanaged the funds at the expense of those investors.

Price allegedly transferred more than $20 million (£12m) to accounts that he personally controlled, falsified information and concealed the extend of his trading losses.

"In order to conceal mounting losses of investor funds, Price created bogus account statements with false account balances and returns that were provided to investors and bank regulators," the US Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement.

An arrest warrant was issued by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York in January 2013, he faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty of wire fraud and 25 years for securities fraud.