Hedge fund managers busted in $1B fraud scheme

Hedge fund managers busted in $1B fraud scheme
By Lia Eustachewich and Jamie Schram
December 19, 2016 | 10:41am         


Norman Seabrook Reuters
A hedge-fund honcho with ties to disgraced city correction-union boss Norman Seabrook tried to flee to Israel with his family after perpetuating a $1 billion fraud, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

Mark Nordlicht, the chief investment officer for Platinum Partners, sent a desperate e-mail Dec. 13, 2015, to an unnamed accomplice, identified in court papers as “Co-Conspirator 1,” stating, “Am on my way to jfk with kids for their 6 pm flight it Israel. [Co-Conspirator 2] ducking my calls … [My wife] is literally making me get on an Israel flight if we don’t connect and agree on what we are doing,” the indictment charges.
“Co-Conspirator 1” had earlier e-mailed Nordlicht, saying, “Don’t forget books. Assume we are not coming to ny[.] Just to be safe. Depends on Miami[.] we can fly straight [sic] to Europe from Miami on Tuesday[.] Take passport,” the papers allege.
Nordlicht was busted at his New Rochelle home and slapped with a slew of charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Six other executives were also arrested, including David Levy, Platinum Partners’ co-chief investment officer, and Uri Landesman, the former president of the firm’s signature fund.
Brooklyn US Attorney Robert Capers and Andrew Ceresney, the director of enforcement at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will announce the charges against the six suspects at a news conference later Monday.
Founded in 2003, Platinum Partners had more than $1.3 billion under management until this year. It produced exceptional profits for investors, with its flagship fund generating an average return of 17 percent since it started, Reuters has reported.
But this year, a series of investigations tied to Platinum Partners came to a head, leading to a Cayman Islands court placing its two main funds into liquidation in August.
Seabrook, the former union leader for New York City’s jail guards, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted a $60,000 bribe in 2014 in exchange for investing $20 million of union money with Platinum Partners.
http://nypost.com/2016/12/19/hedgie-busted-in-1b-fraud-scheme/

sassy wrote:Well done, hope they get a few more!

White Collar crooks just regroup and move onto another type of the same scam!