From Kidnapped To Extradited

Kevin McGeever pretended he was kidnapped for several months. He went to a great deal of effort to make it appear as if he had been taken by miscreants and held for ransom, but then after eight months he turned up and his story fell to bits.

In better times

As you'd expect, speculation turned to a reason for a man to hide himself away, go on a strict diet to lose weight so he seemed to have been held with little sustenance, and let his appearance become thoroughly disheveled.

The once high-flying property developer was, as it turned out, being pursued by creditors who wanted their money back. Naturally, Mr. McGeever preferred not to offer refunds.

In all likelihood, he doesn't have the money, having spent it on lavish digs and a jet-setting lifestyle. Money that was supposed to be invested was instead invested in Mr. McGeever's personal enjoyment. There is no return whatsoever for the investors in that sort of scheme.

An expensive lifestyle cannot be maintained by fleecing Irish investors alone, and now that Mr. McGeever has come back from his self-imposed exile/kidnapping, the scope of his fraud is coming out.

Authorities in Illinois started looking at Global Trust Bank and Global Trust Ltd. in 2003, a couple of purported 'high-yield investments' that Mr. McGeever promoted. People in Illinois and neighboring Wisconsin who bought into the scheme lodged complaints with authorities when those high yields failed to materialize and their initial investments disappeared.

It has since been determined that it was nothing more than a money-laundering operation that benefited Mr. McGeever. Before he could be called in to explain what he was about, he decamped for Dubai. The FBI notified Interpol that they wanted to talk to him, but nothing was done to bring him in. The scope of his fraud was too small to generate interest internationally. In 2011, Dubai put him on the Interpol watch list after he engaged in real estate investment fraud in the country, but Mr. McGeever found his way home without getting arrested.

Authorities in Ireland are considering charging him for wasting the time of An Garda Siochana, which launched an investigation into his kidnapping claim that proved to be false. Now they know where he is, and if the courts in Illinois wish to pursue the still open case against the Irish fraudster, there is an extradition treaty in place.

Chicago is lovely at this time of year, and the warden of the Metropolitan Correctional Center would be sure to find a nice cell for Mr. McGeever to stay while his case is heard. Although it would be difficult to maintain that tan of his behind bars. The narrow windows of the prison are part of an architecturally acclaimed facade, but they don't let in much sunlight.