Judge calls fake billionaire Justin Costello an 'economic danger' to the public

A fake billionaire was blasted by a federal judge on Tuesday, calling him an "economic danger" to the American public.

CNBC reported that Justin Costello was denied bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Butcher, who called him a "serious" flight risk.

Costello is accused of bilking people out of $35 million, with multiple counts of securities and wire fraud, a criminal indictment says. The scheme involved penny stocks, shell companies and a banking firm doing business with cannabis companies. He faces a recommended 27 to 34 years in federal sentencing guidelines if he's convicted. Another man, David Ferraro of Radford, Virginia, is also involved in related fraud complaints.

Costello has spent years claiming to be a billionaire, Harvard MBA, and Iraq war veteran. None of it is true.

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“The weight of the evidence is strong,” Butcher wrote in his decision. “The allegations in the indictment are extensive and detailed."

That said, the evidence, he said, is the least important factor.

"When taken together with the significant [prison] sentence Defendant faces if convicted, the Court finds Defendant has a serious incentive to flee," said the judge.

Prosecutors, he argued, had “demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that [Costello] is an economic danger to the community and that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community.”

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The scheme used social media sites to generate fake information about publicly traded stocks he was trying to profit off of. He promoted himself as a billionaire who “managed money for wealthy individuals, including a Saudi sheikh,” and claimed “he had 14 years of experience on Wall Street,” said the indictment. It was all false.

Costello was found in a remote area near San Diego by tracking him on his cell phone. An FBI SWAT team was then sent in. He was carrying a backpack with tens of thousands of dollars in US and Mexican cash in it. He also had six one-ounce gold bars, banking cards and checks with a driver's license under the fake name of "Christian Bolter."

He has pleaded not guilty.

Read the full report at CNBC.