PIT PASSES

Former owner of Angela's Motorsports captured by authorities

SCENE - JUNE 6, 2005 -

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Fatemeh Angela Harkness, who operated a Busch Series team under the Angela's Motorsports banner in 2002 and was expected to run a team in 2003 with driver Mike McLaughlin, loved race cars and life in the fast lane, but the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force put the brakes on the convicted fraud fugitive after tracking her from Texas to Dubai.

Harkness failed to appear for sentencing after her conviction for fraud and skipped out of the country. The Iranian-born Harkness, who also went by the aliases of Fatemeh Karimkhani and Fatemeh Rayford had a warrant issued for her arrest April 14, 2004, on the bond violation.

The Task Force investigation revealed that Harkness was seeking refuge in Europe or the Middle East.

Harkness was arrested by officials in Dubai, who also worked with the U.S. Marshals liaison to Interpol and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in their international quest to apprehend Harkness. Harkness had pled guilty to fraud involving bank loans for $1.3 million. She and co-defendant Gary Jones had used the money to become Busch Series owners, as well as to purchase other assets.

Jones pled guilty to fraud, theft, and embezzlement charges and is currently serving his sentence.

Harkness, a former strip club dancer, and Jones, a vice president of a Wells Fargo branch, conspired to embezzle more than $1 million between 2000 and 2003, to fund the business out of Harkness' home in Round Rock, Texas.

Officials in Dubai arrested Harkness on a warrant held in the United States and the U.S. Marshals Service is working with the Dubai government on Harkness' extradition back to the United States.

"There is nowhere in the world a fugitive can hide from the United States Marshal Service," said United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas LaFayette Collins.