Former area money manager accused of $1.5M theft

SAFETY HARBOR — A former Gulf Coast money manager recently became the focus of a lawsuit that's garnering international media attention.

Joe Galbraith and his defunct hedge fund, Galbraith Capital Investment Management, are being sued by Credit Suisse, the New York Times reports.

The lender says it accidentally wired $1.5 million to the Safety Harbor-based company and that it has yet to return the money.

As the Business Observer reported in a 2005 story, Galbraith turned a personal interest in stocks into a full-time career with the creation of the Galbraith Capital Equity Market Neutral Fund LP in 2004. The fund, which traded stocks and stock indexes, grew at its height to about $120 million under management.

The fund ran into performance problems recently, and Galbraith, 42, started closing the fund and returning investor money.

According to the New York Times, Credit Suisse has obtained a judgment against the fund for the $1.5 million. Click here to read the Times' full story.