FRANKEL PLEADS GUILTY IN GERMANY

Martin Frankel, the financier that bilked several U.S. insurance companies of millions of dollars before disappearing and launching an international manhunt, has pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in a German court. Frankel, 45, could be sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison. But prison time in Germany is what Frankel would prefer, as he faces much more serious charges, both civil and criminal, in the United States. Frankel has said he believes U.S. prisons are inhumane and that German laws “let someone rehabilitate himself.”

Five state insurance departments, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, have filed a federal lawsuit against Frankel seeking $600 million in damages.