Attorney Robert Arledge turned himself in to federal authorities Monday, ending a weekend-long search for the onetime judicial candidate indicted on federal conspiracy charges.

Arledge returned to Mississippi from a hunting trip in Australia or New Zealand late Sunday or early Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Eldridge said this morning.

&#8220He has voluntarily surrendered and we expect to arrest him today,” Eldridge said.

Arledge will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate James C. Sumner, Eldridge said.

On Friday, more than a dozen federal agents swarmed Arledge’s Turning Leaf subdivision mansion to seize property stemming from the 48-year-old’s involvement in claims for payment from a settlement pool created by American Home Products, a pharmaceutical company that produced and distributed Pondimin and Redux.

The indictment charges that numerous plaintiffs shared in more than $8 million in payments as a result of submitting the false information and that Arledge, as an attorney, knew the claims were false.

Creation of the pool – nearly $2 billion – followed a $23 million jury verdict in 1999 in Texas and a $150 million jury verdict in Jefferson County, claiming the diet drugs endangered the health of those who took it.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, which in this case carries a maximum sentence of five years, Arledge faces additional charges of mail and wire fraud and money laundering in the indictment that carry five- and 10-year sentences, Eldridge said.

Those terms result from the activity taking place before the maximums sentences were raised in 2002, and thus are lower than current maximums, Eldridge said.

Items seized Friday from Arledge’s home were numerous, ranging from a motorcycle to at least one oil painting. The indictment lists several items obtained with the hundreds of thousands of dollars Arledge secured in fees, including drapes, cars, homes and football tickets.

Arledge, a Vicksburg native, ran for Warren County Court judge in 2002. The winner of that contest was Vicksburg attorney John S. &#8220Johnny” Price Jr., who has since been re-elected to the post.

Arledge received his license to practice law in 1995 and formerly worked with the Swartz & Associates law firm in Jackson.

In addition to running against Price for county judge, Arledge asked then Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to be appointed Warren County prosecuting attorney to replace Price. He had also qualified to run for county prosecutor but withdrew from the race.