MIAMI – A man wanted for more than a year in a scam in which women were used to lure out-of-town visitors to shady South Beach clubs, where they charged extremely high prices for liquor, has been arrested.
The FBI said Alec Simchuk, 45, of Riga, Latvia, was arrested Thursday afternoon at Miami International Airport.
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Investigators have been searching for Simchuk since April 2011, when 17 people were charged in a scheme involving "B-Girls," or "Bar Girls."
The women would troll legitimate South Florida night spots for people who appeared wealthy, then lured them to private clubs and started pouring booze, racking up huge charges on the victims' credit cards.
The FBI said the private clubs existed only for the purpose of the scam.
Federal charges are pending against Simchuk, who is expected to appear in federal court in Miami on Friday.