US Hedge Fund Boss on Run After Failure to Attend Court Hearing

Stephen Harris

13 April 2006

Kirk Sean Wright, the head of a multimillion-dollar US hedge fund, International Management Associates, who has been charged with mail fraud, has failed to appear at court hearings and is now considered a fugitive. Mr Wright is blamed for losses by several high profile US professional football players and hundreds of other investors. Federal officials say that there is a warrant out for his arrest. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a federal lawsuit against Mr Wright and International Management Associates on 27 February, alleging five counts of fraud. The lawsuit joins a civil complaint filed in a Georgia state court ten days earlier. Mr Wright and the company are accused of collecting up to $185 million in assets from at least 500 investors since 1997 and of lying about the value of their investments.