Worldwide hunt for telemarketer leads to LV arrest

Jen Lawson and Jace Radke

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 | 9:43 a.m.

A man wanted in a $4.8 million telemarketing scam was arrested Tuesday at his apartment near the Strip after a four-year worldwide manhunt that included an international case of mistaken identity.

Derek Sykes, 72, surrendered peacefully when he was taken into custody by FBI agents about 6 p.m. at his home near Paradise Road and Sahara Avenue, said Ed Cogswell, FBI spokesman.

As a result of Sykes' arrest, a 72-year-old British man named Derek Bond, whom authorities had mistaken for Sykes, was released from jail.

Bond had been on a wine-tasting vacation in South Africa when he was detained by authorities and held there for two weeks as a result of the mixup, authorities said.

Cogswell said he wasn't certain exactly how the mistake happened.

"The name on the arrest warrant was Derek Bond with an alias of Derek Sykes," he said. "Mr. Bond's passport number and biographical information matched Mr. Sykes."

The two men even look alike, Cogswell said, calling the resemblance "incredible."

FBI agents in Las Vegas got a tip at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday that Sykes was living in Las Vegas, officials said. A warrant was issued for his arrest in Houston in 1999, and it appears he had been hiding here since then, authorities said.

The indictment in Texas accuses Sykes and another man, Frank Bravo Jr., of soliciting fraudulent investments in a telephone calling card business from people in at least 17 states, using banks in Las Vegas.

The indictment accuses Sykes and Bravo, along with an unindicted third man of bilking investors in a company called Inset World Communications from offices in Houston and the Southern California communities of Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa.

The FBI was investigating whether Sykes stole Bond's identity.

According to British news reports, several other men, who are now in prison, helped run the Houston-based Insnet World Communications.

The telemarketers called individuals all over the United States and talked them into sending money to Insnet, including their retirement account funds.

The brokers promised they would use the money to earn profits selling telephone calling cards, but there were no profits in the scheme they were operating.

Instead, the victims were paid a return on their investment with money that was taken straight out of their capital, according to reports.

The scheme was active in the mid-1990s and cost 210 people about $4.8 million.

Sykes appeared Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Robert Johnson, who ordered that Sykes be returned to Texas to face a 30-count indictment.

He is charged with one count of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, 17 counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, seven counts of money laundering and a forfeiture count.

Margaret Stanish, assistant U.S. attorney, said during the hearing that Sykes entered the United States 3 1/2 years ago on a visitor passport and he appears to be a British citizen.

When he was arrested, he had various false documents under the name of Robert James Grant, including a California driver license, birth certificate from Louisiana, and an international driving permit, Stanish said. He also had a Canadian passport.

If convicted, Sykes would face at least 63 months in prison if convicted, Stanish said.

U.S. Marshal Rivera Fidencio said Sykes will be extradited to Texas within two weeks.

Metro Police Sgt. Ted Lee of the criminal apprehension team, which is also comprised of officers from Henderson Police, the FBI and U.S. Marshal Service, said fugitives are often found in Las Vegas.

"People just end up here because of the fact that it's Las Vegas," he said.