Angela Harkness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fatemeh Karimkhani (a.k.a. Angela Harkness, born in 1976, in Tehran, Iran), is a convicted scam artist. Her biggest scheme was the infamous Angela's Motorsports NASCAR team in 2003. She is now serving time for her crimes.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Karimkhani was the youngest of at least seven daughters (and three sons) of an Iranian civil servant and military officer who fled to Germany in about 1979 after the Shah's government there collapsed. In about 1995, she moved to the United States. Soon after she found a job as a stripper in California. She married Rayford Tyler Jr. in a scam intended to gain her citizenship; this would be the first of at least three attempts (all unsuccessful) to become a U.S. citizen. In May 1996, the 21-year-old Karimkhani met a 40-year-old judge named Dion Harkness. Despite their constant bickering, they moved in together and later married, even though Karimkhani never divorced from her first husband. On three occasions, Karimkhani accused Harkness of domestic violence, and sought to have him arrested. Despite protesting his innocence, Harkness, who had no prior criminal record, lost his seat on the bench and the ability to practice law. Harkness accused her of self-abuse, abusive behavior toward him and addictions to drugs and pornography, but to no avail. She gave birth to a baby in November 2000. Four months later, Harkness left his wife after another fight, and a few days afterward was found dead in a Palm Desert, California hotel room of an apparent suicide.
[edit] Angela's Motorsports
In this time afterwards, Karimkhani, now calling herself Angela Harkness without benefit of a legal name change, claimed to have served a variety of occupations. Among them included a kindergarten teacher, trophy girl, motocross champion, and a wealthy heiress among many others. In the fall of 2001, she met the African-American vice-president of a Wells Fargo branch named Gary D. Jones at an Austin, Texas, strip club where she worked as a stripper. The two became lovers, and Jones, a married man, later moved in with her. Authorities say the couple wrote fraudulent checks and obtained bank loans with bogus applications in their relatives' names. Not too long after that, Harkness suggested that they form a new minority-owned NASCAR team, which would attract multi-million dollar sponsorships. Purchasing cars from Robert Yates Racing, the two assembled a championship-caliber team in crew chief Harold Holly, general manager Clyde McLeod, and popular driver Mike McLaughlin. The team made its debut at the season-closing Ford 300 in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002. Kevin Lepage and Jay Sauter piloted the machines. When they tested in 2003 with McLaughlin, they ended up being the fastest. Unfortunately, Jones and Harkness couldn't produce the $6,000,000 they needed, and their checks began to bounce. Harkness threatened their sponsor, Wired Flyer.com, to pay $350,000 or face legal action. RYR owner Robert Yates caught on however, and was able to get his equipment back; but not all investors were able to recoup their losses. Not long after that, Jones and Harkness fled, and the team dissolved. Following the scheme, NASCAR instituted a Drive for Diversity program to introduce opportunities for minorities and women to enter the sport that included a screening process so that an Angela's Motorsports-type scheme couldn't happen again.
[edit] Afterwards
In the aftermath, Jones was found operating a sports grill and was arrested for fraud, embezzlement from Wells Fargo Bank, perjury, money laundering, and conspiracy. Harkness entered a plea bargain agreement for fraud and agreed to testify against Jones, but soon after fled the country. After a long manhunt, she was finally arrested in 2005 in Dubai and had the Iranian passport she was traveling on confiscated. She was ordered not to leave that country, pending her extradition to the U.S. to face sentencing, imprisonment and then likely deportation to her native Iran after her time in prison was served.
