DAYTON — A man facing conspiracy and wire fraud charges arising from a scheme to secure military contracts through kickbacks has become a fugitive, according to federal law enforcement officials.

Metin Atilan, 48, who holds dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, fled home detention imposed as a condition of his release after his arrest by FBI agents on May 27 in Las Vegas, according to a news release issued by the FBI on Tuesday, June 17.

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Metin Atilan, 48Click to enlarge

Authorities arrested Atilan on a complaint filed May 14 in U.S. District Court in Dayton alleging that he attempted to bribe a U.S. military contracting official. A federal grand jury indicted Atilan on June 10, 2008 charging him with two counts of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud .

After his May 27 arrest, Atilan appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Las Vegas. Federal prosecutors in Nevada requested that Atilan be detained until his removal to Ohio to face the federal charges.

Atilan was released to home detention secured by an electronic monitoring device. Atilan surrendered his U.S. and Turkish passports. Atilan cut off the monitoring device late on June 14 and has not been seen since, the news release sasid.

Anyone with any information on the current whereabouts of Atilan is requested to contact the FBI office in Dayton at 222-7485 or their nearest FBI office.

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