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11 Facts About George Koskotas

1.

George Koskotas is a former banker and publisher who spearheaded a financial scandal that brought down the PASOK government in 1989.

2.

George Koskotas emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1970 and worked for his father's house painting business in Queens, New York until 1979 when he returned to Greece.

3.

In 1980, George Koskotas was indicted on charges of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State unemployment office of $41,000 in a scheme to falsify unemployment insurance claims and obtain tax refunds from fictitious workers of his company.

4.

George Koskotas was arrested on the charges in 1987 while he was attending a newspaper editors' convention in Washington DC George Koskotas posted $1 million in bail and returned to Greece.

5.

In 1979, George Koskotas joined the Bank of Crete as an administrative officer.

6.

On October 20,1988, George Koskotas was indicted on five counts of forgery and embezzlement and was suspended from the position of bank chairman.

7.

George Koskotas picked up his wife and five children in Switzerland.

8.

George Koskotas was later transferred to Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury in Danbury, Connecticut.

9.

In January 1992, George Koskotas was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years in prison.

10.

George Koskotas was paroled and released from prison on March 16,2001 after serving 12 years of his 25-year sentence.

11.

George Koskotas is barred from leaving the country and was ordered to report to an Athens police precinct twice a month.