A former Wall Street broker who was captured in Spain pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal securities fraud and bail jumping charges, admitting that he fled the country because he was frightened.
Julian Tzolov, 36, entered his plea just minutes before his trial was to begin in federal court in Brooklyn.
U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein asked Tzolov why he fled, touching off an international manhunt in May that ended when Spanish police caught the former broker for Credit Suisse's private banking division last week.
"I panicked, your honor. I got scared," Tzolov said.
The crimes to which Tzolov confessed, which also included visa fraud, carried a potential sentence of life in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Andres said there was a chance Tzolov may cooperate with the government and testify at the trial of Eric Butler, his former Credit Suisse colleague.
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