Swindler's Girlfriend Due in Federal Court

The girlfriend of hedge fund swindler Samuel Israel III is due in a New York court on charges she helped him skip out on a 20-year prison sentence.

Debra Ryan, of Armonk, was arrested in June, 10 days after Israel faked his suicide and went on the lam. She is due to appear before a federal magistrate in White Plains on Wednesday.

When she was arrested, prosecutors said she admitted helping Israel pack up the RV that he took off in rather than begin the sentence he received for swindling hedge-fund investors.

Ryan's statement was the first big break announced in the case after Israel's SUV was found abandoned on a Hudson River bridge with the ominous words "Suicide is Painless" etched in dust on the hood.

Israel, who surrendered in July, is undergoing physical and psychological tests at a federal medical prison.