A Texas woman who fled the country after she pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with a scheme to fund her NASCAR racing team has been arrested in the Middle East, the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday.

Fatemeh Angela Harkness, 29, admitted in January 2004 that she conspired with Austin banker Gary Jones to embezzle more than $1 million from his bank between 2000 and 2003.

Jones, a former Wells Fargo business banker who was vice president of his branch, prepared about 12 loans using several people's names and kept the money for himself, court documents show.

Jones and Harkness, a former stripper from Round Rock, used the money to assemble a NASCAR team called Angela's Motorsports. The racing team, featuring driver Mike McLaughlin, entered cars in the Busch Grand National Series starting in late 2002.