[Zubair Ghias] Investment banker who vanished posts bail
Anne Warfield
Investment banker who vanished posts bail
By Jon Yates
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 23, 2004, 4:42 PM CST
A Chicago man charged with lying to federal investigators to explain
why he was missing for five days from his North Side home posted bail
today and was released from jail in Maine, court officials said.
Zubair Ghias, 27, accused of concocting an account of his kidnapping,
posted a $50,000 deed of trust bail. He pledged his Lincoln Park
residence as collateral if he fails to show for his next court date in
U.S. District Court, Bangor, Maine.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk also ordered Ghias to
surrender his passport and not to travel except in Illinois or to
Maine for future court appearances. Further, the judge ordered Ghias
to undergo a mental health assessment.
Ghis was accompanied in court by his wife, Jehan Ara Ameen, 26, and
their family. They are expected to return home to Chicago tonight.
The investment banker was charged Friday with one felony count of
lying to the FBI after he allegedly devised an elaborate ruse to flee
his home and his wife, who is six months pregnant.
Ghias left home Feb. 14, supposedly to go into work at J.P. Morgan
Chase & Co. in the Loop. When he failed to return home, his wife
contacted police to report him missing two days later.
Authorities concluded that Ghias abandoned his late-model Range Rover
on a South Side street, withdrew $5,200 cash from a Chicago bank and
used a credit card at a New York store.
The man boarded a plane Thursday night bound for Casablanca, Morocco,
authorities said. As the plane was en route, Ghias called home to tell
relatives he had been kidnapped by "Arab" men and forced to board the
plane.
Federal officials said they alerted the airline, Royal Air Maroc,
after hearing Ghias might also be carrying a bomb. The pilot turned
the flight around to land in Bangor, where FBI agents took Ghias in
for questioning.
In an affidavit filed with the federal court in Bangor after the
arrest, an FBI agent said Ghias at first maintained he had been
abducted, taken to New York and put on the plane to Morocco.
But, the agent said, Ghias later retracted the story -- admitting he
had fought with his wife and wanted to "get away from everything."
If convicted of making false statements, Ghias faces up to 5 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-040223ghias,1,308035.story?coll=chi-news-hed
--
Anne Warfield
indigoace at goodsol period com
http://www.goodsol.com/cats/
Anne Warfield
Man who vanished back home
Banker posts his bail in fake kidnapping case
By Jon Yates, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Nikki
Usher contributed to this report
Published February 24, 2004
A Chicago man charged with faking his own kidnapping after a fight
with his pregnant wife posted bail Monday and was released from a
Maine jail.
Zubair Ghias, an investment banker, boarded a plane late Monday
afternoon with his wife and parents and headed home, his attorney,
Mark Rotert, said.
"I think he's obviously encouraged that he's able to rejoin his
family," Rotert said after the brief federal court hearing in Bangor.
"He does want to go home."
Ghias, 27, was charged on Friday with lying to the FBI after he said
he had been abducted. The investment banker spent the weekend in a
Maine jail before posting a $50,000 deed-of-trust bail, pledging his
Lincoln Park condominium as collateral if he fails to show for his
next court appearance.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk also ordered Ghias to
surrender his passport and undergo a mental-health evaluation.
Ghias left home Feb. 14, reportedly telling his wife, Jehan Ara Ameen,
that he was going to work. Ameen, who is six months' pregnant,
reported him missing two days later.
Police found his sport-utility vehicle parked in Englewood, and a
private investigator tracked him to New York.
The next time his family heard from him was Thursday night, when he
called home from aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca,
Morocco. Ghias told relatives he had been kidnapped by a group of
Arabs and forced to board the airplane, police said. Federal officials
relayed the story to the airline and said Ghias might have a bomb. The
pilot turned the plane around and landed in Bangor.
Investigators searched the plane and found no explosives.
When FBI agents interviewed Ghias, he repeated his story that he had
been kidnapped, then later admitted he was lying, according to an
affidavit filed in court.
Ghias told investigators he fled Chicago after having a fight with his
wife because he wanted to "get away from everything."
In Chicago, police Supt. Philip Cline said his department is
considering charging Ghias, although Cline is not sure what the charge
would be. Detectives want to interview Ghias after he returns to
Chicago, Cline said.
Cline said he would look into asking Ghias to pay for the time
officers spent searching for him.
"I think there's a lot more information that needs to be gathered and
evaluated," said Rotert. "People should not assume anything."
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0402240246feb24,1,3446871.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
OzzieAnnie
"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
news:403e784a....@news.prodigy.net...
> From the Chicago Tribune--
You know what bugs me most about this story? This article doesn't
mention his trip to a hardware store where he bought plasterboard
and other stuff like that, but it was in the other stories. Why
would he buy that kind of stuff when he's planning to run off? Or
perhaps he first considered killing his wife and hiding her body eg
behind some new wall in his basement? Or what?
Ozzie Annie
Anne Warfield
Away> wrote:
>You know what bugs me most about this story? This article doesn't
>mention his trip to a hardware store where he bought plasterboard
>and other stuff like that, but it was in the other stories. Why
>would he buy that kind of stuff when he's planning to run off? Or
>perhaps he first considered killing his wife and hiding her body eg
>behind some new wall in his basement? Or what?
But his wife's in Chicago, & the hardware store is in New York, so I
doubt his purchase had anything to do with her. You're right, though,
it's very strange.
OzzieAnnie
Okay... I admit that might be a problem. Next time I'll read more
closely. :) But doesn't that make it even more mysterious, why he
bought that stuff?
OA
Anne Warfield
Away> wrote:
>
>"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
>news:403f68fa....@news.prodigy.net...
>> On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 10:56:43 +1100, "OzzieAnnie" <Long Ago and Far
>> Away> wrote:
>>
>> >You know what bugs me most about this story? This article doesn't
>> >mention his trip to a hardware store where he bought plasterboard
>> >and other stuff like that, but it was in the other stories. Why
>> >would he buy that kind of stuff when he's planning to run off? Or
>> >perhaps he first considered killing his wife and hiding her body
>eg
>> >behind some new wall in his basement? Or what?
>>
>> But his wife's in Chicago, & the hardware store is in New York, so
>I
>> doubt his purchase had anything to do with her. You're right,
>though,
>> it's very strange.
>>
>
>Okay... I admit that might be a problem. Next time I'll read more
>closely. :) But doesn't that make it even more mysterious, why he
>bought that stuff?
>
I'm right there with ya. :)
Messalina
Some people in the retail and service industries sell drugs and ring
them up as legitimate goods and services so that people can buy them
using credit cards. Maybe thats what he did.
Mez
OzzieAnnie
"Messalina" <sec...@duelingoak.com> wrote in message
news:7111e10e.04022...@posting.google.com...
Now there's an interesting thought. Seems odd, that kind of thing
happening in a hardware store - if that's what it really way. I bet
you're right. Thx. Wish some of the news stories would have
investigated this.
OAnnie