VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A racecar driver accused of running a Ponzi scheme was out of jail Tuesday. Henri Zogaib got his bond reduced from $2.2 million to $65,000. He didn't even have to prove the money he used to bond out didn't belong to his alleged victims.
Twenty-seven charges, a list of two dozen victims, and at least $9 million in missing money hasn't been enough to keep 37-year-old Henri Zogaib behind bars. The former Grand Am driver walked out of jail Saturday, the second time he's been set free since an investigation into his iron-ore investment idea started more than a year ago.
Henri Zogaib Henri Zogaib Alleged victims, including drivers at all levels of NASCAR, were shocked that Judge Michael Hutcheson dropped Zogaib's bond down to just $65,000.
But court documents show his attorney argued the new charges weren't really new but instead "... typical law enforcement paranoia or a desire to make it more difficult for the defendant to mount his defense."
Zogaib already has three judgments against him in civil court, but, criminally, his attorney compared him to a troubled car company or bank.
"Everyone wants their money back right now or they are a 'victim.' Nobody stole money from the depositors of Wachovia. As the political phrase goes, 'It's the economy, stupid,'" his attorney wrote in their motion to reduce his bond.
One new element of the bond agreement is Zogaib has to tell the special prosecutor or FDLE investigators exactly where he is living and he has to do it every month. Zogaib has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Lebanon, but has handed over his passport.
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