Ex-Nicklaus executive to be held without bail in fraud case
By Melissa E. Holsman staff writer
March 27, 2003
WEST PALM BEACH — A former executive for golf legend Jack Nicklaus was ordered held without bail on federal securities fraud and other charges Wednesday, a week after being captured in Colombia by Bogota police.
John R. Boyd, 45, formerly of Palm City, who was escorted into federal court by U.S. Marshals in hand and leg shackles, is accused of fraudulently altering financial records submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission while working for a Nicklaus firm in North Palm Beach.
Boyd is accused of deceiving officers and shareholders in Paragon Golf Construction, a former subsidiary of Nicklaus' Golden Bear Golf, while he was president of Paragon in 1997 and 1998. The deceptions allowed him to collect "lucrative bonuses and compensation," a federal indictment alleges.
The indictment also named Christopher Curbello of San Antonio as a co-defendant. He was arrested March 14 in Texas.
Bogota police caught up with Boyd last week at a rented apartment, U.S. officials said. He was deported and handed over to FBI and Secret Service agents.
"We were able to track some phone numbers to an address down there. From there, the locals got involved and they picked him up," said Judy Orihuela, an FBI spokeswoman.
"He said he had been in Bogota just a few months. He said he'd been roaming around from country to country in South America."
Last fall, Boyd fled Martin County as he faced unrelated felony charges related to bilking local banks out of more than $790,000. A Martin County judge in September revoked his $110,000 bail and ordered his arrest.
He is due back in federal court April 25. |
