Berlin
German police this week arrested Herbert Axelrod, a 77-year-old multimillionaire from New Jersey who was on the run for tax evasion. Axelrod, who made his money in pet products and pet-care books and then became a violin collector, is charged with defrauding the IRS. He is also accused of having vastly overestimated—by some $50 million—the value of several 17th-century Stradivarius violins that he donated to the Smithsonian Institution, though charges in that case have not been formally filed. Axelrod fled to Cuba in April and was then spotted in Switzerland, before being nabbed in Germany. If extradited and convicted in the U.S., he could face five years in prison.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Democrats: The 2028 race has begunFeature Democratic primaries have already kicked off in South Carolina
-
The Pentagon's missing missilesFeature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spendingFeature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
