Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association – Press Release – a Platinum Announcement -$7M and no Use of Funds?
COBA
In a Bid For Leniency Huberfeld, a Serial Fraudster, Has been Going on a Dina D’Malkhusa Dina Speaking Tour
“He has taught us about Dina D’Malkhusa Dina: the law of the land is the land”
Should Murray Huberfeld, an extraordinarily wealthy investment manager, a skilled financier, an adroit con-man, orthodox Jew and alleged “philanthropist” not have known that “the law of the land is the land” already?
We have included the relevant 4 pages of the 45 page “aid in sentencing“. We could go on and on with comments that cannot quite adequately express how troubling we find the entirety of that 45 pages.
Suffice it to say, if Huberfeld did not already know that the law of the land is the land, even a cell with Madoff is a generous outcome.
We wonder when the authorities will stumble on FERC and hold Huberfeld and Platinum’s dizzying number of subsidiaries in the gas business, many of which were positioned solely to defraud FERC, liable for those offenses. This is all just smoke and mirrors.
Huberfeld could sell snow to a snowman and this entire show is nothing short of chilling.
Murray Huberfeld and a Platinum Laden 45 Pages, He Should be Sharing a Cell with Madoff, Not Given Leniency
huberfeld, submission, 7 million restitution
Respectfully Submitted, Platinum Was a Ponzi Scheme and Huberfeld is a Serial Fraudster, a Pattern and Practice that Began in the 90’s
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr15826.txt
We began reporting on Murray Huberfeld and his involvement with the Platinum Partners fraud in 2016. He defrauded investors, full stop. He defrauded a pension fund, COBA. His willingness to repay $7M back to COBA, as set forth in the 45 page call for leniency by his attorneys, is not an act of generosity. In fact, it is a slap on the wrist for someone who has turned defrauding investors, siphoning off money and then starting again into an art form. He admitted to a very minor offense in comparison to what charges could have been served. Moreover, we think the repayment to COBA may very well represent an admission to a different crime. He does not seem to have admitted to defrauding the COBA investors.
The above is a link to the 45 page submission provided by Mr. Huberfeld’s attorneys to the Judge in his sentencing hearing. It makes for nauseating reading, and that is being quite kind. It includes pages and pages of statements by family and friends. It is worth noting that at least two of those friends, included in the myriad of support he received, are convicted felons. If we are defined by the company we keep?
The sprawling display of creative lawyering speaks of apologies and humility and the unusual circumstances of this particular fraud. What made this one different? Murray Huberfeld got caught. He should be punished for a pattern and practice of criminal behavior, one that has defined his life, at least since the 90’s. Murray Huberfled should not be rewarded for his hollow attempts at restitution and alleged quasi-generosity.
He is not living a life of “tsinius” by any means.
Like the others in his litany of Madoff-like Ponzi schemes, he will likely escape unscathed, only to begin another. Contrary to comments by his attorneys, Marty Huberfeld is a criminal mastermind. He is a brilliant architect of intricate schemes. He is well versed in energy regulatory structures, diamond mining, real estate, healthcare and nursing homes. The man is not the naive fool as alleged by his attorneys. Quite the contrary. Well crafted fraudulent schemes are his modus operandi. Platinum partners was just one in a non-exhausted serial of enterprises: Broad, Centrion, Viridian, Black Elk, COBA, and the list goes on and on and on.
Make no mistake, Murray Huberfeld is no Robin Hood and, contrary to the eloquence of his attorneys, he does not have integrity sweating from his pores as that 45 pages would have us believe. He has used charity to provide the cover of philanthropy and altruism; and we would argue, to launder money. Whatever financial benefit he has given away has not been based upon altruism and bleeding heart generosity. It has been a ruse to cover up behavior far darker, a serial pattern and practice of fraud and lies.
Sadly, Mr. Huberfeld’s plea by his attorneys includes letters and statements, testaments of beneficiaries of Huberfeld’s supposed generosity. He is supported by his friends and family which include other convicted felons. His attorneys have painted a picture of unicorns and rainbows; and it is all remarkably ill-gotten.
We ask: what about his victims? Do they not matter? What about the family fortunes and lives ruined by his crimes? What about government institutions, the SEC, the tax authorities, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the laws of the land? They have been and continue to be demeaned and disgraced by his actions? Are those to be ignored because one life ruined is outweighed by the 45 pages of fluff provided by his attorneys?
Those 45 pages are insultingly absent the clarity that Mr. Huberfeld is a serial fraudster. He began in the 1990’s by paying someone else to sit for his SEC licensing exams. He was given a pass, one which paved the way for him to perfect his ability to outwit law enforcement. That should not go unnoticed. We contend that if the past speaks to the future it will not end here.
Murray Huberfeld would not be truly sorry for the depth of the damage he has caused, not only to individual investors, the victims of each of his schemes, but to the integrity of the markets, unless he were given the harshest possible sentence.
We hope the Judge in the case has the moral fortitude and good sense to do just that, to overlook the statements of his supposed beneficiaries, those who were afforded nothing more than the benefits of dirty money, and to finally give him more than a simple slap on the wrist.
ADDITIONAL READING:
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b150xwhg75tcth/platinum-to-manage-centurion-fund
NORM… – If You Were Going to Defraud Your Fellow Officers – You Needed to Learn the Ropes!!!
Ex-correction union boss Norman Seabrook wasn’t properly supervised and showered execs with ‘luxury gifts,’ suit says
Correction union execs weren’t keeping an eye on now-indicted ex-president Norman Seabrook when he invested pension money in a “Ponzi scheme” – because he had long showered them with gifts such as cars, a new lawsuit alleges.
The feds have alleged Murray Huberfeld, who ran an investment firm called Platinum Partners, agreed to give Seabrook a kickback in late 2013 — so he would invest union money in one of its high-risk funds.
Seabrook dumped some $20 million of Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association money into Platinum Partners in 2014.
That December, Seabrook received a $60,000 cash kickback in an $800 Ferragamo bag and became “angry,” griping it wasn’t enough, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has alleged.
Hedge fund holding Seabrook’s investment files for bankruptcy
Sources previously told the Daily News that the middleman who delivered the money to Seabrook was Jona Rechnitz, a major donor to de Blasio’s mayoral bid and the now-shuttered Campaign for One New York.
Platinum Partners has since declared bankruptcy, however – making COBA’s investments in the fund “virtually worthless,” according to the Manhattan federal court lawsuit, filed by Jeffrey Norton, of Newman Ferrara, and Philip Seelig. Seelig was COBA president from 1979 to 1992.
Seabrook got away with investing in Platinum — without COBA’s executive board knowing or approving the investment — because execs “had, for years, failed to supervise Seabrook in any meaningful way,” the suit charges.
“Indeed, Seabrook had ensured the Executive Board’s quiescence through liberal dispensations of gift cards, cars, and plush job assignments away from Rikers Island, which ensured they exercised no due diligence over Seabrook’s activities,” court papers say.
Indicted former NYC correction union boss wants Disney vacation
The suit also slams COBA’s law firm, Koehler & Isaacs LLP, as being “more loyal to Seabrook than to COBA” — and distracting union leadership — to protect its business interests.
“Although Koehler & Isaacs knew that Seabrook had made the high stakes investment, its contract with COBA could be imperiled if Koehler & Isaacs made any representations that called into question Seabrook’s activities,” court papers say.
The feds have alleged Murray Huberfeld agreed to give Seabrook a kickback in late 2013.
“Accordingly, Koehler & Isaacs neither advised nor warned the Executive Board about the investment.
“Instead, Koehler & Isaacs helped Seabrook co-opt the Executive Board by providing the members with GPS devices and other luxury gifts,” the suit says.
Seabrook loudly pleads not guilty to corruption charges
COBA President Elias Husamudeen said in a statement to The News that the filing is “yet another frivolous suit” brought by those who have an axe to grind with the union.
“The fact of the matter is that no matter how many lawsuits are brought against our union, we remain focused on representing and fighting for our members, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Husamudeen said.
Koehler & Isaacs also shot back at the suit, calling the allegations “salacious” and misleading.
“The facts will show that Koehler & Isaacs, along with COBA’s financial advisors, performed a thorough and diligent vetting of the union’s investment in Platinum Partners, which at the time of the investment, produced among the highest returns for investors in the hedge fund industry,” the firm said in a statement.
A new dimension to Seabrook corruption scandal?
To read the remainder of the article click here.
Seabrook and the COBA Money…. Platinum’s $20M Creditors
Norman Seabrook Was Likely the Wrong Person to Trust with COBA Fund Money…
Hedge fund holding Norman Seabrook’s $20M investment is broke | New York Post
Hedge fund holding Norman Seabrook’s $20M investment is broke | New York Post
The embattled hedge fund holding a $20 million investment from the city’s correction officers’ union has finally admitted that it’s broke.
The Platinum Partners’ Value Arbitrage fund filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan bankruptcy court late Tuesday.
The filing represents the nail in the coffin for the $20 million the union invested in Platinum, under the leadership of its ex-President Norman Seabrook.
“Norman Seabrook severely impacted his members by making these frivolous investments that only benefited himself, and now the COBA is out $20 million dollars,” said Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association member William Valentin, who triggered a federal probe into Seabrook with a lawsuit over the risky investment.
“Smoke and mirrors seems to be the way of the COBA until the members get tired, and remove them,” he added.
Seabrook was arrested in June and charged with taking $60,000 in kickbacks in a black Ferragamo handbag in exchange for funneling Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association money into the high-risk hedge fund.
Platinum founder Murray Huberfeld was also arrested and charged with bribing Seabrook to hand over COBA funds at a time when the NY hedge fund was desperate for cash.
Both Seabrook and Huberfeld have pleaded not guilty.
As The Post exclusively reported last month, Platinum’s flagship fund — which made up the bulk of its $1.3 billion in assets — had just $68,530 in cash at the end May, just before the arrests of Seabrook and Huberfeld.
It was aggressively borrowing money anyway, including from the family of Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka Trump.
On May 27, Kushner’s aunt and uncle loaned Platinum $10.5 million, documents obtained by The Post show.
In total, the firm owes over $365 million to investors and credits, according to documents from its Cayman Islands liquidator, which was supposed to be responsible for paying people back.
To read the article in its entirety click, here.
Platinum Partners – The Money is No Doubt Hidden – Start Digging…
THE NEW YORK POST:
Embattled hedge fund tied to prison guard union under new management
Murray Huberfeld, founder of Platinum Partners Photo: Reuters
Troubled hedge fund Platinum Partners — which is holding $20 million in pension money for the city’s prison-guards union — is officially under new management, The Post has learned.
A Cayman Islands judge has ordered that liquidation firm RHSW Caribbean take control of Platinum’s flagship fund amid concerns about its ability to repay investors, according to a letter to investors obtained by The Post.
The new managers said they plan to meet with Platinum’s investors, including the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, on Sept. 28.
Ex-COBA president Norman Seabrook invested members’ pension money in Platinum, as well as the union’s operational funds.
Investors have been clamoring for answers following the June arrest of Platinum co-founder Murray Huberfeld, who was charged with paying bribes to get his hands on COBA’s money from Seabrook, who has also been charged in the alleged scheme.
In July, Platinum’s New York offices were raided by the FBI.
TO READ THE ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY CLICK HERE.
Huberfeld and Seabrook, If the COBA Doesn’t Fit, You Must Acquit…?
CeFaan Kim Norman Seabrook pleads “absolutely not guilty” at his arraignment moments ago in federal court.
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@CeFaanKim@ABC7NY Isn’t that an O.J. phrase?#NotVeryOriginal
Roxanne Isn’t that an O.J. Phrase? – Norman and Murray…
Norman Seabrook, Murray Huberfeld plead not guilty in connection with federal probe
http://abc7ny.com/news/union-leader-seabrook-financier-arraigned-in-corruption-probe/1438289/
BRONX, New York (WABC) —
Longtime head of the correction officers union pleaded not guilty to charges that he took kickbacks and bribes for funneling pension funds to a financier’s hedge fund.
“Absolutely not guilty,” Norman Seabrook, Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association president, said at his arraignment Friday in federal court.
Seabrook, and Murray Huberfeld, of Platinum Partners, are each charged with one count of honest-services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud, which carry up to 20 year sentences.
Seabrook maintained his innocence Friday morning on the way into court. “I feel great, and we’re innocent and it will be proven.”
Huberfeld also pleaded not guilty.
Seabrook was arrested in June after a cooperating federal witness, real-estate investor Jona Rechnitz, said he personally handed Seabrook $60,000 in a black Ferragamo man purse in exchange for securing a $20 million pension investment.
Rechnitz said he introduced Seabrook to Huberfeld after Seabrook complained it was time, “Norman Seabrook got paid” for handling COBA’s investments.
Seabrook was to be paid a portion of the profits from the union’s investment, which Huberfeld estimated would be between $100,000 and $150,000 a year, according to the government.
For a link to the video click here.
SEABROOK, “FEELIN’ GROOVY”
LOSTMESSIAH 