Last January, Credit Suisse wired $1.5 million to hedge fund manager Joseph B. Galbraith.
One month later he disappeared off the map.
According to a New York Times report, two weeks after Credit Suisse wired the money in three transactions to Galbraith, the bank realized that it made a mistake.
"At the time of the wire transfers, the hedge fund, Galbraith Capital Investment Management, was winding down operations and it had no cash left in its account with Credit Suisse," according to the New York Times.
Credit Suisse asked for its money back — but Galbraith never returned it. So, naturally, the bank's next move was to sue Galbraith and his hedge fund in an attempt to get back the funds.
It seemed like a good plan — until Galbraith went missing in February.
The last time anyone heard from him, Galbraith was on a ski trip. He sent an email to a Credit Suisse employee explaining that he was talking to his bank about sending back the money.
"Don't panic over there, I'm dealing with this," he wrote.
But then on February 5, when Credit Suisse got in touch with Galbraith's bank, it realized that Galbraith "had refused to give his approval to reverse the wire transfers."
Today, Galbraith probably isn't anywhere in the US. Back in 2011, Galbraith renounced his citizenship following a bitter divorce with his first wife. In one email attached to litigation papers, Galbraith wrote to his wife: "I hate the [expletive] place and what it represents," according to the New York Times.
Those who knew the hedge fund manager think he might be hiding out in Europe — probably in Monaco — with his second wife.
Despite the mystery surrounding his whereabouts, a reporter actually got in contact with Galbraith via email recently.
"Mr. Galbraith said he had not been aware of the Credit Suisse lawsuit. In an email, he said the accusations against him were 'ridiculous, bordering on laughable' and part of an effort to malign and slander his character," the New York Times reports.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this isn't the first sketchy situation Galbraith found himself in.
His hedge fund is also in a legal dispute with a computer technology company as well, according to the New York Times. The company claims that Galbraith's fund owes over $130,000 in fees.
