A United States citizen and Dallas-area resident facing criminal fraud charges has been denied bail and remanded back to custody after a federal judge in Oklahoma determined he was likely to flee to Costa Rica.

David Harper of the Tulsa World newspaper reported that Joshua Wayne Lankford appeared in court earlier this week after U.S. Marshalls tracked him down in Costa Rica. He is part of a group of defendants in a 2009 indictment that also charged Louisville, Kentucky attorney James Reskin, 51; Dean Sheptycki, 43 -at the time a resident of Florida and the Bahamas- for their participation in a complex stock manipulation and fraud scheme.

According to an official press release by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force of the U.S. Department of Justice, the evidence presented at trial showed that between April 2004 and December 2006, Mr. Lankford and his co-defendants devised and engaged in a scheme to defraud investors known as a “pump and dump,” in which they manipulated three publicly traded penny stocks of three companies. A penny stock is a common stock that trades for less than $5 per share in the over the counter market, rather than on national exchanges. On that release, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated that:

“These defendants illegally manipulated the stock market by deceiving potential investors about the true worth of the stocks they were buying. Investors were left with nearly worthless stock while these defendants reaped more than $44 million in profits. Investors deserve accurate information. When we find evidence of individuals artificially pumping stocks for their own profit, we will vigorously prosecute them.”

Reskin pleaded guilty on March 26, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering and to one count of obstruction of a proceeding before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by making false and misleading statements to the IRS and to the Department of Justice. That official release indicated that two other men were implicated, and that Mr. Lankford and Mr. Reskin were fugitives at the time. Mr. Lankford arrived in Costa Rica shortly after a man connected with scheme pleaded guilty in 2008, even though Mr. Lankford had not yet been charged at that time.

According to evidence presented in court, Mr. Lankford, who is in his late 30s, left his family and children behind in the U.S. while hiding in Costa Rica. He is alleged to have netted $5 million in the scheme.