Fugitive who bilked banks out of $30M is caught

His favorite movie is "Catch Me If You Can," and he thought he could emulate it, according to authorities.

"He honestly thought with his background and his knowledge, he could hide from us," said Jim Phelps, with the U.S. Marshals Service and supervisory director of the Joint Criminal Apprehension Team.

But when marshals caught up with Park City resident Jeffrey F. Geddes in San Diego, they told him their favorite movie was "The Fugitive."

"He was in shock when we caught him. You literally could see his lips drying out and his tongue turning white. He was caught totally off guard," Phelps said.

In March, a warrant was issued for Geddes, who failed to show up for sentencing after being convicted on 56 counts of bank and wire fraud. He had pleaded guilty to bilking Zions Bank and other banks out of an estimated $30 million by claiming he owned a tile business that supplied Home Depot.

When it came time for sentencing, however, in which he was likely looking at 10 years in federal prison, he went on the run. Phelps, however, said his investigators have uncovered evidence suggesting that Geddes had been planning since November to flee.

"He had no desire to do 10 years in federal prison," Phelps said.

Some evidence came in the form of Geddes' boasting.

"He bragged how easy it was to launder money in foreign countries," Phelps said. "I believe he would have eventually left the country. I'm confident he thought he would never be caught. He talked about Belize and Cancun and places where he could hide. I think he honestly thought he could hide from us the rest of his life."

Geddes even tried to convince authorities that he had disappeared to commit suicide, Phelps said.

U.S. marshals knew Geddes was a fan of the movie "Catch Me If You Can," the 2002 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks based on the real life story about Frank Abagnale Jr., a con man who achieved infamy in the 1960s by passing millions of dollars worth of bad checks in countries around the world while posing as several different people before being caught.

But in addition to being a fan of the movie, investigators knew Geddes was also a fan of gambling, Phelps said. And U.S. marshals thought it would be a good bet to check out his favorite gambling establishments.

"We knew there was a strong likelihood there would be casino action," Phelps said.

Even before Geddes went on the run, Phelps said, agents developed information that Geddes was in Las Vegas on a weekly basis, including one occasion in which he lost $300,000 in a single day.

At a casino on an Indian reservation in California, marshals caught up with Geddes. He had drastically changed his appearance. He was growing a beard and had recently undergone Lasik surgery so he no longer needed his trademark glasses, Phelps said.