Murray Huberfeld, a Platinum Partners principal, has pleaded guilty to allegations that he was involved in a wire fraud conspiracy. However, he has not admitted a guilty plea to related to an alleged $1B scam involving his hedge fund.
Huberfeld admitted to misleading his hedge fund when he falsely claimed that a $60K payment was to pay for Knicks tickets when, in truth, it was a bribe to ex-New York City jail union boss Norman Seabrook to invest pension cash.
The money had been issued to fixer Jona Rechnitz. She has since turned government witness in a number of federal corruption probes. The bribe resulted in the Correction Officers Benevolent Association investing $20M in Platinum.
Huberfeld’s guilty plea comes several months after a jury deadlocked on the fraud and conspiracy charges against him and Seabrook. Seabrook ran the Correction Officers Benevolent Association for over 20 years.
It was just last year that an oil and gas producer, which is now defunct, filed a lawsuit accusing executives of reinsurer Beechwood and its subsidiaries of assisting Platinum Partners in committing an alleged $1B fraud. Platinum founder Mark Nordlicht and others were accused of securities fraud and running a Ponzi scam.
The US Justice Department in 2016 was the one that contended that Platinum Partners had been run like a Ponzi scam. It accused the hedge fund of mismarking holdings to enhance performance, attract new investors, and make $100M in fees.
Unfortunately, hedge fund fraud, can happen. It was just earlier this month Premium Point Investments LP founder Anilesh Ahuja was arrested and charged with securities fraud, conspiracy, and wire fraud. The hedge fund founder is accused of exaggerating by more than $200M the performance of his company to draw in new investors and keep existing ones. Also charged in criminal court were ex-Premium Point portfolio manager Amin Majidi and ex-firm trader Jeremy Shor. The three men all have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The SEC has filed a parallel civil case naming all of them.
Hedge Fund Fraud
If you are a hedge fund investor who sustained losses that you believe may be a result of fraud, contact our hedge fund fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP today so that we can help you explore your legal options.
Hedge fund founder from Long Island pleads guilty to fraud, Newsday, May 25, 2018
More Blog Posts from SSEK Law Firm:
SEC Proposes “Regulation Best Interests” that Would Prevent Brokers from Merely Calling Themselves Investment Adviser, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 20, 2018
Investment Adviser is Accused of “Ponzi-Like” Scam Involving 50 Investors, Including Friends and Family, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 18, 2018
SEC Accuses Broker of Giving Some Customers Preferential IPO Access in Exchange for Over $1M in Kickbacks, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, January 2, 2018