A SUSPECTED fraudster alleged to have swindled North-East pensioners out of almost £1m is to appear in court in the morning. (Saturday, May 28)

Financial advisor Kole Lulgjuraj arrived back in the region under arrest after being detained by FBI agents - after a work colleague in Indiana, USA, spotted an online report by The Northern Echo detailing a police appeal to find him.

Detectives from Durham Constabulary accompanied the 50-year-old to Newcastle International Airport from the United States via Heathrow this morning (Friday, May 27).

Mr Lulgjuraj, originally from Montenegro, but who used to live in Darlington, was charged this afternoon with one count of fraud and six counts of theft totalling £870,000.

The offences are said to have been committed between 1999 and 2011.

Most of the victims were elderly who lost their life savings.

The alleged crimes came to light after relatives of one of the pensioners, who has since died, queried her bank account when working out the funding of care home bills.

Police were called in and launched an investigation, which led them to other alleged victims in the County Durham area.

Mr Lulgjuraj is suspected of stealing over £105,000 from a woman and her mother, who are from Darlington.

He was arrested over the matter and then released on bail by Durham Constabulary officers in 2012. The older woman, who suffered from dementia, died in 2013.

Police launched Operation Toll Gate to find him and investigations revealed that he had moved to the USA where he was eventually arrested.

He was arrested by agents from the FBI in Indianapolis, Indiana, after he began working in a bank.

A colleague searched his name on the internet and found a report by The Northern Echo of a police appeal to trace him and the authorities were alerted.

Mr Lulgjuraj is in police custody and is due to appear before north Durham magistrates sitting at Peterlee.

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said: “Kole Lulgjuraj, 50, of no fixed abode, has been charged with six counts of theft and one count of fraud.

“He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court.”