Woman arrested in NASCAR fraud case

UPDATE #2 A former stripper was sentenced to nearly three-and-a-half years in federal prison Friday for attempting to embezzle more than $1 million from a bank to start her own NASCAR racing team. Fatemeh Angela Harkness, 31, of Round Rock, pleaded guilty in January 2004 to conspiring with banker Gary Jones to embezzle more than $1 million from his Austin bank from 2000 to 2003. She received a 40-month sentence.

04/09/07 A former stripper-turned-NASCAR-owner who has been sought by U.S. authorities for three years was arrested in New York on Sunday after agreeing to surrender. Fatemeh Angela Harkness was taken into custody as soon as her flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, touched down at JFK International Airport in New York, said Timothy Hughes, a spokesman for the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.

Authorities accused Harkness and Gary Jones, a former Wells Fargo business banker, of using about $1 million obtained through fraudulent bank loans to start a NASCAR team called Angela’s Motorsports, which they ran out of Harkness’ Round Rock home. The racing team entered cars in the Busch Grand National Series starting in 2002. It disappeared in 2003 after the team’s checks started bouncing.

Jones prepared about 12 loans using several people’s names and kept the money for himself, according to court documents. He was sentenced to just less than four years in prison in August 2004 after he pleaded guilty to fraud, theft and embezzlement charges.

05/28/05 A Texas woman who fled the country after she pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with a scheme to fund her NASCAR racing team has been arrested in the Middle East, the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday. Fatemeh Angela Harkness, 29, admitted in January 2004 that she conspired with Austin banker Gary Jones to embezzle more than $1 million from his bank between 2000 and 2003.

Jones, a former Wells Fargo business banker who was vice president of his branch, prepared about 12 loans using several people's names and kept the money for himself, court documents show. Jones and Harkness, a former stripper from Round Rock, used the money to assemble a NASCAR team called Angela's Motorsports. The racing team entered cars in the Busch Grand National Series starting in 2002.

The Marshals Service learned Thursday that Harkness had recently been arrested in the United Arab Emirates on a U.S. warrant, agency spokesman Tim Hughes said. The agency is working with the government in Dubai on her extradition to the United States. When she returns to the U.S., Harkness will be sentenced on the original charge and likely also will face charges for violating her bond, Hughes said. AP Story