Kirk Wright lived fast but died alone in a Union City jail cell Saturday night.

Wright, the Harvard-educated fund manager convicted last week in a fraud scheme that bilked investors out of tens of millions of dollars, hanged himself, an investigator with the Fulton County medical examiner's office said Sunday.

The 37-year-old Marietta resident was found dead in the cell where he was being held while awaiting sentencing; his prison term was expected to be lengthy. No foul play by another person is suspected, and the man's death was a suicide, said Betty Honey of the Fulton medical examiner's office.

A federal jury convicted Wright on Wednesday of all 47 counts of mail fraud, securities fraud and money laundering stemming from a scam run through his firm, International Management Associates.

Michael O'Leary, one of Wright's two attorneys, said Sunday night that he was "shocked and saddened" by the news. Wright was upset about his conviction, "as any other defendant would be," O'Leary said. "It's a very sad state of affairs and I feel very sad for his family."

Wright maintained his innocence until the end, contending that simple mismanagement was to blame for his investors' losses.

But prosecutors convinced jurors that Wright had concocted an elaborate scam to have investors fund his lavish lifestyle, which included spending $50,000 on a Rolex watch, $200,000 on a Lamborghini and $500,000 on a wedding.

Wright's firm attracted deep-pocketed clients, many of them family friends and NFL players, who sank more than $155 million into International Management between 2001 and 2005. In 2006, those clients learned their money was gone.

Former Denver Broncos player Steve Atwater was among those Wright swindled, losing $2.7 million. "It's a tragic deal all around," Atwater said Sunday upon learning of his former friend's death.

Using false brokerage reports and other means, Wright assured them that their investments were earning high yields.

Wright, who had a master's degree in public policy from Harvard, had been able to avoid questions by returning a total of $70 million to some clients. He fled when the scam was revealed.

Authorities arrested Wright in May 2006 as he sipped cocktails poolside at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Miami. In his room, they found fake identification and credit cards as well as ID-making equipment. While a fugitive, Wright had bought a Mercedes and a condominium in Florida.

He had been held without bond since his arrest. Authorities, meanwhile, auctioned his belongings for $1.9 million. His assets included luxury homes in Marietta and near the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta, a $115,000 Bentley Continental and an Aston Martin valued at $110,00.

--Staff writer S. A. Reid contributed to this story.