FBI calls ex-Comverse chief a fugitive
To many, Jacob Alexander is the Larry Ellison of Israel — minus the flash and dazzle.
Like his counterpart Mr. Ellison, the chief executive of the software giant Oracle, Mr. Alexander transformed a communications software company, Comverse Technology, from a start-up to a market leader with annual sales of more than $1 billion.
That made Mr. Alexander, known as Kobi, a pioneer and hero in Israel’s emerging high-tech industry. These days, though, Mr. Alexander is also referred to by another title: fugitive.
Mr. Alexander, 54, is believed to have fled the United States after he and two other former Comverse executives were charged earlier this month with securities, mail and wire fraud by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Yet the odds are that it will be a long time before Mr. Alexander explains himself in a courtroom, if ever.
Mr. Alexander’s lawyer, Robert G. Morvillo, said he last heard from his client more than two weeks ago and he believed that Mr. Alexander and his family were on vacation in Israel. Mr. Alexander is an Israeli citizen and is a former military officer there. And in late July, according to prosecutors, Mr. Alexander wired $57 million to an account in Israel.
Mr. Alexander grew up in Tel Aviv. His father is Zvi Alexander, who spent 40 years in the oil industry in Israel. After serving as an officer in the Israeli defense forces, the younger Mr. Alexander earned a degree in economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1977.
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