Bayou fund founder seeks to leave prison early, cites health

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Samuel Israel, a hedge fund manager who faked his own suicide to avoid prison after admitting to running a $450 million fraud, is trying to shorten his 22-year sentence or be set free, saying his health has worsened and authorities can't take care of him. According to a Wednesday court filing, the founder of Bayou Group LLC nearly died last year after officials at the federal prison complex in Butner, North Carolina failed to replace the battery for his pacemaker, only doing so after he fell, hit his head and lost consciousness. Israel, 54, also suffers from a degenerative spinal condition but has been refused treatment to alleviate chronic pain, the filing said. A Manhattan doctor who once treated Israel submitted a letter saying it would be \"medically irrational\" to deprive Israel of opioids to treat the pain.