Aug 2, 2008 2:48 pm US/Pacific
Husband Of Slain Century City Woman Arrested
LOS ANGELES
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Ventura County resident, Pamela Fayed, who was
slashed to death in a Century City parking garage July 28, 2008.
CBS
The husband of a Ventura County woman who was slashed to death in a Century City parking garage is in jail Saturday, arrested by the FBI on federal charges related to the international gold trading company that the couple owned.
An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles said James Fayed was arrested at the family home near Moorpark, in a rural section of Ventura County, and is being held at the Ventura County Jail.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss the nature of the charges" that put Fayed in jail, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. But she did say that Fayed will be in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles Monday morning for a court appearance.
Los Angeles police are handling the murder of Pamela Fayed, the co-owner of the gold-trading firm, who was knifed to death by a man Monday. The vicious knifing occurred near her lawyer's office in Century City, and Los Angeles police have been looking at the family's business dealings and estranged husband as they investigate.
The Los Angeles Times reported that police had searched the family home last week.
James Fayed's attorney complained to The Times that his client's arrest by the FBI "was accelerated ... as a result of Pam's death." Mark Werksman said James Fayed's arrest is being used by the federal agents "to apply pressure" on his client as regards to the family gold business.
The Times reported that its sources said the gold trading firm owners were being investigated for fraud. The Fayeds' company, Goldfinger Coin & Bullion Sales, allowed wealthy people to buy gold, which they could then use as collateral for cash in a system they called "E-Bullion."
The Better Business Bureau for Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties has said at least 36 people had complained to it for being reportedly unable to access their assets, The Times reported.
Court documents obtained by the Ventura County Star showed that Pamela Fayed had accused her husband, from whom she had separated and was divorcing, of violating federal currency trading laws.
Pamela Fayed said in her divorce papers that James Fayed had also failed to get their business its proper licenses and bonds, the Star reported.
The Star reported that James Fayed fired back in court documents denying that such licenses and bonds were required, and accused Pamela Fayed of embezzlement as she diverted company assets to pay for the licenses and bonds.
The woman was repeatedly stabbed by a slender man in his 20s, who fled in an SUV as shocked witnesses heard her scream for help. She died a short while later at the UCLA Medical Center.
Last month, a similar "digital currency provider" in Melbourne, Fla., which used bullion as assets, was prosecuted, and its owner pleaded guilty to federal money-laundering charges.
Jeffrey A. Taylor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the federal charges brought against E-Gold show that "digital currency providers everywhere are now on notice that they must comply with federal banking laws, or they will be subject to prosecution."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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