Colombian Lothario Dies In Custody While Awaiting Extradition To US For Bank Fraud

Alleged bank fraudster Sergio Hernán Perdomo Llévano, from Huila, Colombia was found dead in his cell yesterday, where he had been detained awaiting extradition to the United States. Apparently Perdomo committed suicide around mid-day Wednesday while being held in the Colombian attorney general’s “bunker” as the facility is called. The SIJIN investigative unit has already began an inquiry.

54-year-old Perdomo was detained February 19 at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport based on an extradition request from the US Federal District Court for The Southern District of Florida. Perdomo was attempting to fly to Madrid, Spain, when captured by Colombian marshals.

The charges against Perdomo stem from 2004, when he convinced a woman in the US to collaborate with him on financing for a condominium. The two took out a loan for $950,000 but Perdomo absconded with the money, leaving the woman on the hook for the amount and victimized. The bank attached her assets and eventually filed criminal charges against Perdomo for bank and wire fraud.

Perdomo hailed from Neiva, Huila and was identified by the Huila publication La Nación as the son of well-known businessman José Joaquín Perdomo Martínez, aka “Pachelo,” who himself had been entangled in a kickback scandal involving another son, mayor of Neiva, Gustavo Penagos Perdomo and a firm called “Aseo Total” (Total Cleaning). The controversial mayor was assassinated in 1998.