Fugitive Apprehended in North Carolina

Defendant convicted of securities fraud repeatedly failed to appear in federal court for sentencing

BOSTON – A convicted fraudster who had been on the run since early November was arrested this morning as he exited a hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

David J. Aubel, 60, of Matthews, N.C., was apprehended today after failing to appear for his sentencing hearing in federal court in Boston on Nov. 5, 2018. Aubel was detained today following an initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte, N.C. A date for his sentencing hearing in Massachusetts has not yet been rescheduled.

In November 2017, Aubel pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud in connection with his role in a stock manipulation scheme. According to court documents, Aubel repeatedly failed to appear for multiple sentencing hearings scheduled throughout September and October 2018. Each time, Aubel informed the Court either telephonically or through counsel that his father was in poor health and that he was at his bedside. The Court rescheduled Aubel’s sentencing hearing for Oct. 18, 2018; however, Aubel once again failed to appear at that hearing – informing the Court through counsel that he had been hospitalized the night before. The Court issued an arrest warrant at the government’s request; however, the warrant was later recalled. Aubel’s sentencing was then rescheduled for Nov. 5, 2018.

On the morning of Nov. 5, 2018, the government opposed a motion for self-surrender filed by Aubel. In its opposition, the government disclosed for the first time that it had recently discovered evidence suggesting that Aubel had continued to engage in criminal conduct while released on bail. Aubel subsequently failed to appear at the sentencing hearing later that day.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Gregory Allyn Forest, U.S. Marshal of the Western District of North Carolina; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordi de Llano, Deputy Chief of Lelling’s Securities & Financial Fraud Unit, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Palid of the Securities and Exchange Commission are prosecuting the case.