SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Georgia pastor turned failed investment banker who faked his death in 2012 is speaking out.
Aubrey Lee Price was on the run for 18 months until he was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Glynn County on New Year's Eve last year.
He's accused of bilking investors out of $21 million. From jail, he spoke to a freelance journalist about that year and a half on the run -- which included a stint in South America where he said he tried to make back the money he lost as a drug trafficker.
"And I didn't know he had this operation, so when I walked back in this room it's obvious -- there's 30 to 40 workers they're stuffing little bags full of white powder," Price said.
Price was last seen in grainy surveillance video boarding a ferry in Key West in 2012. That was the last anyone had seen or heard from.
Price even left suicide notes for his family members. But the scheme came crashing down when he was pulled over in Glynn County late last year.
Price said he was able to maintain his time as a fugitive by making fake IDs with up to six false names, a skill Price said he learned in the States.
"I was a fugitive I wasn't going to tell anybody my real ID. What was the reward? I was disappointed it was only $20,000. Come on, put some money out there," Price said.
Investigators say Price spent the last year on the run living in this old dark trailer in Citra, Florida. After Price's arrest, Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies raided the home and found 225 marijuana plants inside.
Price pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud back in June. He faces up to 30 years in prison and millions in fines and restitution. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
WJAX
