Calif. Donor Turned Fraud Suspect Dies in French Prison
March 7, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
A Southern California money manager who built a regional reputation for philanthropy before being charged in an alleged $228-million investment scam has died in France, where he was in custody awaiting extradition, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The U.S. Embassy in Paris confirmed Monday that Bruce Fred Friedman, 62, had died but not give details on the date or the case. Mr. Friedman had been arrested and jailed in France in 2010.
Prosecutors contend that Mr. Friedman defrauded hundreds of clients, promising to invest their assets in property but instead using the money for homes, luxury items, travel, and donations of millions of dollars to charity. The largesse led baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers to invite him to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a 2008 exhibition game.
The Children’s Museum in Los Angeles, to which the Friedman Charitable Foundation pledged $10-million in 2008, nearly closed the following year, after a judge froze Mr. Friedman’s assets.
