Telegram.com - Convicted swindler Amit Mathur will remain in federal custody for the next three months, a federal judge ruled today.

In denying Mr. Mathur’s bid to be released on bail until his sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 5, U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV said there were too many reasons to believe the former Shrewsbury investment counselor might flee the country to avoid spending as much as 14 years in a federal prison.

Mr. Mathur, 37, was convicted May 15 on 20 counts of mail and wire fraud after a two-week trial in which he was accused of stealing or misappropriating some $13 million from people who had invested in a hedge fund he established in 1999 called Entrust Capital Management. Among the victims of the fraud were prominent city businessman David G. “Duddie” Massad; his daughter, city lawyer Pamela Massad; and Mr. Mathur’s uncle, Alok Mathur of Westport, Conn.

Amit Mathur’s parents had offered to put up their home, valued at $580,000, and more than $300,000 in retirement savings, and family friends had pledged to come up with any additional money to cover the pre-sentencing bail sought by Mr. Mathur.

Judge Saylor, however, said one aspect of the situation deeply troubled him.

“It gives me great pause and weighs heavily in my decision,” the judge said, that a family member was among those from whom Mr. Mathur stole money.

Alok Mathur testified during the trial that he lost $530,000 he had invested with his nephew.

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