Missing Georgia banker accused of embezzlement arrested in Brunswick traffic stop

A Georgia banker accused of embezzling more than $20 million who has been the subject of an FBI search since he went missing last summer was arrested Tuesday during a random traffic stop in Brunswick.

Aubrey Lee Price, 47, originally from Lyons, was indicted in July 2012 by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Georgia on a charge that he defrauded the Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey of more $21 million. He was arrested Tuesday by members of the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office conducting a random vehicle and traffic stop, said James Durham, first assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

According to the allegations in the indictment against Price, in 2010 an investment group he controlled invested approximately $10 million in the failing Montgomery Bank & Trust. Price was then made a director of MB&T and put in charge of investing the bank’s capital.

Over the next 18 months, Price is alleged to have stolen, misappropriated and embezzled more than $21 million from MB&T, Durham said. To cover up his fraud, Price provided MB&T officials with bogus account statements, which falsely indicated the bank’s capital was safely held in an account at a financial services firm, Durham said.

Before Tuesday’s arrest, Price was last seen in June 2012 boarding a ferry terminal in Key West, Fla., bound for Fort Myers. He disappeared after writing a letter to acquaintances and regulators stating that he had lost a large amount of money, and that he planned to take his own life. On Dec. 31, 2012 — exactly one year before his Tuesday arrest — a circuit court judge in Florida agreed to order a presumptive death certificate for Price at the request of his wife.

The FBI has been actively searching for Price since the date of his disappearance. He was arrested by Glynn County deputies on Interstate 95 in Brunswick. When deputies learned of Price’s true identity, he was taken into custody, Durham said.

Price will make his initial appearance on the federal arrest warrants on Jan. 2 at the federal courthouse in Brunswick.

In the Southern District of Georgia, Price is charged with one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. He faces additional charges in New York.

The indictment of Price arises out of an ongoing and joint investigation by FDIC-OIG special agent John Crawford, Federal Reserve Board OIG special agent Amy Whitcomb and FBI special Agent Ed Sutcliff. First Assistant United States Attorney James Durham and Assistant United States Attorney Brian Rafferty are prosecuting the case for the United States.