A former kosher hot dog salesman who fled to Israel after he was indicted on 30 counts of fraud last year was arrested early Friday morning at the Atlanta airport.

Arnold Zaler, 59, lived for nearly a year as a fugitive in Jerusalem before he voluntarily returned to the United States, authorities said.

His surrender was coordinated with the FBI and the State Department, and special agents were waiting for his plane from Tel Aviv when it arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office.

Zaler was a North High School valedictorian who attended the University of Colorado and ran unsuccessfully for Denver City Council in 1979.

In 1996, prosecutors in Arizona charged him with more than 50 counts of fraud and other crimes, saying a computer software company he ran was actually a pyramid scheme. He was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison, but was released in 2002.

Zaler then returned to Denver, where he opened Zaler's Kosher Meats, a business similar to one his grandfather operated for many years.

Federal prosecutors say Zaler quickly began scamming investors in that business as well, forging purchase orders from the Pepsi Center and Coors Field - where he sold his hot dogs - to get money from investors.

He was indicted in February 2008 on 30 counts of bank, wire and mail fraud.

With no objection from prosecutors, federal magistrate Kathleen Tafoya agreed to let Zaler go free on an unsecured $25,000 bond, though he was required to forfeit his passport and temporary travel documents issued by Israel, and was ordered not to leave Colorado.

It is still unknown how Zaler was able to leave the country less than two months later.

The U.S. government had filed a request for extradition with Israeli authorities before Zaler's surrender.

He appeared in court in Atlanta for an initial appearance Friday. Authorities said it could be several weeks before he is returned to Denver.