APNewsBreak: Escaped Ponzi scammer possibly went to Brazil

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal agents believe a man who masterminded a $100 million Ponzi scheme and escaped from a federal prison in California may have fled to South America.

Court records reviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday detail the investigation into the 2017 escape of Frederick Darren Berg.

The documents say the U.S. Marshals Service named Berg’s former boyfriend, Darrell Ray Blankenship, as a “person of interest” in connection with the escape.

They say Blankenship posted photos on Instagram from a hotel in Brazil and sent a post to Berg’s mother reading, “hello from Rio.”

Berg was sentenced to 18 years in prison and escaped in December 2017.

Blankenship has not been charged with a crime or formally accused of wrongdoing. He didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.