One of Australia's most wanted men, who allegedly strapped a fake bomb on the neck of an 18-year-old, has been arrested in Kentucky, U.S. authorities said.

The FBI said Paul "Doug" Peters, whom New South Wales accuse of the bomb hoax early this month, was captured at his ex-wife's home outside La Grange, Ky., about 25 miles (40 kms) northeast of Louisville.

Police say Peters broke into the Sydney home of Bill Pulver, the CEO of a leading company that makes speech recognition and text-to-speech software.

The only person home was Pulver's 18-year-old daughter, Madeleine. The man strapped a device to the girl's neck that he claimed was a bomb he could detonate by remote control, and left behind a ransom note. He also warned the girl that that the device had a microphone, which would allow him to monitor her conversations.

Madeleine Pulver endured a 10-hour ordeal before the collar device was removed and declared harmless.

Peters, who authorities believe left Australia on Aug. 8, will appear in court in Louisville on Tuesday, Reuters said.

The New South Wales Police Force said in a statement that Australian authorities will seek to have Peters extradited to face charges in the bomb hoax.