UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WUSA9) -- A Leesburg man who was a jailhouse informant while serving time for scamming banks out of millions was shot to death.
Osama El-Atari was found dead Saturday inside his new Dodge Ram pickup truck in front of an abandoned home in Upper Marlboro just outside the Beltway.
El-Atari, 37, was reported missing by his family Thursday.
Investigators have been silent about details into the death of the former restauranteur and car collector. El-Atari is probably more well known for his role in a Ponzi scheme that managed to scam several banks out of $71 million.
In 2009, while in jail for stealing from the banks, El-Atari met former Marine Jorge Torrez, who told El-Atari he'd killed a young navy petty officer named Amanda Snell in a case that had gone cold in 2009. Torrez then admitted to killing two young girls in his hometown in Ohio.