A former Bank of America vice president who is accused of fleeing to South Korea after stealing money from clients is in federal custody in Honolulu.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment in December charging Michael Ho Kim with a single count of wire fraud, and prosecutors filed the indictment under seal in U.S. District Court pending Kim’s apprehension. The court unsealed the indictment after Kim appeared for his arraignment on the charge Monday. He pleaded not guilty.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang scheduled trial for September. He has yet to decide whether to grant Kim’s release on bond pending trial. The government has requested that Kim remain in custody without the opportunity for release.

According to the indictment, Kim used his job as a mortgage loan officer to lure Bank of America customers into a Ponzi scheme, promising them high rates of returns for short-term investments.

One investor gave Kim $300,000 in September 2010 on his promise to repay her $345,000 within three months, according to the indictment. Instead of using the money to fund a short-term real estate loan as promised, Kim used it to fund his lifestyle and to make payments to other investors. Kim paid the $300,000 investor $15,000 in early December 2010 as a partial payment and to “buy time.”

Kim fled Hawaii on an international flight to South Korea in late December 2010, the indictment says.

The investor mentioned in the indictment and others later sued Kim in state court, but the lawsuits were dismissed because none of the plaintiffs was able to locate him to serve him their lawsuits.