Pete Nyberg was in court Thursday hoping to get out of jail but a judge refused Nyberg's request to slash his bond.
The 47-year-old Durham man is a college graduate with a master's degree. He was married and has two children. Now divorced, Nyberg has joint custody of his 10 and 13-year-old daughters.
Property records show Nyberg is still part owner of a $600,000 beach house on Bald Head Island, which is near Wilmington.
It all started unraveling late last year when Nyberg was convicted of not paying state payroll tax, and then he got arrested for breaking and entering. Now, Nyberg is accused of ripping off people trying to sell their homes.
He knows that the longer he sits in jail, the less time he will have with his children, his elderly parents and trying to find work.
That's why his attorney pleaded with a judge to reduce his $76,000 bond.
"Judge, he's not a flight risk. He's going to be here for his court date. He's not running away from this. I think he's been cooperative, your honor," said Nyberg's attorney Doug Brown. "So, we would just ask that the court might significantly reduce that bond to the neighborhood of $10,000 to $15,000."
The judge refused the request but indicated that it could be reviewed again when Nyberg is scheduled to be back in court next month.
Tax records show Nyberg still owns a building in Durham valued at nearly $400,000. It's not clear why he doesn't use that property to get out of jail.
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