Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, the tech mogul who fled the US in 2006 after being fingered in a stock options scandal — his bank accounts allegedly stuffed with $138 million in fraudulent income — has decided to come back to face the music.
The 64-year-old former chief executive of New York-based Comverse Technology had been living a life of luxury in Namibia, in southwest Africa — in a ritzy neighborhood near a private airstrip.
The fugitive is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court as early as Wednesday.
His lawyer, Ben Brafman, told The Post he is hoping Alexander can escape without a prison sentence.
“Judge can do zero to max of 10 years,” Brafman, the superstar lawyer who’s represented such high-profile clients as Michael Jackson and Martin Shkreli, told The Post. “[We’ll] be asking for [the] lowest possible sentence.”
When indicted in 2006, the disgraced tech executive faced 25 years in prison.
The US does not have an extradition treaty with Namibia.
While leading Comverse, a voicemail-software maker, Alexander mastermided a 15-year scheme to backdate stock options to put them in the money, the government alleged in its 35-count indictment.
The indictment also charged Alexander with operating a slush fund.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed similar civil charges against Alexander — who fled with his wife and three kids before the indictment was unsealed.
By the time the Justice Department issued an arrest warrant, Alexander had gone missing in action in Israel — and even his former lawyer didn’t know where he was, according to a Wall Street Journal article at the time.
In 2010, Alexander paid $54 million to settle the SEC charges.
Meanwhile, Comverse’s general counsel, William F. Sorin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day behind bars.
David Kreinberg, the company’s chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the feds in their investigation. He was sentenced to time served after a brief period in custody.
Comverse, which is now defunct, faced its own problems while Alexander was away in Namibia. In 2010, the company lost a class-action lawsuit and was forced to pay $225 million for the backdating scandal.
Alexander’s Namibia home is in a gated community on the grounds of the Windhoek Country Club, according to CNBC, which first reported his return.
While in Namibia, Alexander curried favor with the local authorities by pledging millions of dollars in aid to local schoolchildren.
“Notwithstanding his departure from Namibia, Mr. Alexander and his family will continue their charitable work in Namibia,” Brafman said in a statement to CNBC.
“Specifically, since 2007, the Alexander family has financed and operated soup kitchens in Namibia that have served more than 750,000 nutritious meals to children in Katutura and Kuisebmond,” Brafman continued. “These soup kitchens will continue to operate, employing seven people and feeding 700 children each day.”