A judge has ordered convicted hedge fund swindler Sam Israel, who allegedly faked his own suicide to avoid serving a 20-year prison sentence, to undergo a medical evaluation in North Carolina.

Israel, of Armonk, was back for a fourth time Tuesday in U.S. District Court where he was expected to admit to the alleged ruse. Instead, judge Kenneth Karas and attorneys for both sides agreed Israel was not fit to proceed with the hearing.

The convicted swindler was in a drug detox program during his previous three federal court appearances, so the court did not accept his guilty plea for failing to report to prison.

Israel is now finished with the drug treatment, but his attorneys say he's still not well. Judge Karas said he would permit a delay on the grounds of determining Israel's mental capacity.

The 49-year-old Israel will be sent to a federal prison complex in Butner, N.C., for medical and psychiatric evaluation.

Israel was supposed to report to prison June 9 for bilking investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Instead, authorities say, he faked his suicide - leaving his SUV at a Hudson River bridge with the words "suicide is painless" etched into the dust on the hood. He surrendered July 2.

The evaluation process is expected to last 90 days.

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