Early life and education
Nordlicht was born to a Jewish familyTaipei Times: "Platinum Partners executives charged with US$1bn fraud"Platinum Partners
Platinum Partners was formed in 2003 in New York City with Nordlicht as chief investment officer. It portrayed itself as having a knack for illiquid investments and had $1.7 billion in assets in its most recent filing. The investor mix consisted of institutional investors, family offices and ultra-high-net individuals.Arrest
On December 19, 2016, federal agents arrested Nordlicht and six others on charges related to a $1 billion fraud that alleged that Nordlicht's firm operated "like aTies to New York City correctional officers' union
The investigation of Platinum and Nordlicht was an outgrowth of a criminal case against Norman Seabrook, the head of the New York City correctional officers' union, who was alleged to have invested $20 million of the union's pension money in Platinum as part of a scheme in which he got kickbacks. Murray Huberfeld, an executive of Platinum, reportedly gave Seabrook bribes including a Ferragamo bag stuffed with $60,000 in cash to secure a $20 million pension investment. Seabrook was also 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. After a hung jury in his first trial, Seabrook was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy at a second trial in August 2018, and as a result of the ongoing case that forced Platinum to close, the correction officers' union pension fund lost $19 million of its investment. Seabrook was sentenced to 58 months in prison on February 8, 2019.Leaks in the media
Lawyers for Nordlicht argued in court and in a letter dated April 7, 2017 that an FBI agent may have leaked information about the investigation to the press before it became public. The letter cited news articles in Bloomberg, '' the Wall Street Journal'' and '' the New York Post'' published in the summer of 2016 reporting that Platinum was under investigation. Nordlicht's lawyers further argued that the leaks, and not the actions of Platinum's executives, may have been responsible for the damage to the value of Platinum's funds that caused harm to investors. Reporter Ira Stoll of New Boston Post said of the case:The more one looks into this, the more it looks like the Platinum Partners prosecution is just the latest in a mounting and troubling pattern of examples in which New York-area federal prosecutors and FBI agents have jailed hedge fund managers or destroyed their businesses with publicized raids — only to have the charges eventually overturned by judges or never brought at all.
Trial
Trial the case of United States v. Nordlicht, et al. began on April 23, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan. The jury trial spanned nine weeks as defendants Mark Nordlicht and to other platinum executives invoked various defenses unveiling unruly subject matter purported by the prosecution. The jury reached a mixed verdict on July 9, 2019. The jury rejected the prosecution's keystone argument purporting the Platinum Partners fund operated "like a Ponzi scheme," finding all defendants not guilty on those five subject charges unanimously. The jury did find two defendants guilty on three counts relating to conspiracy and securities fraud in transactions relating to bondholders of oil exploration company Black Elk. Platinum's former CFO, Joseph SanFilippo, was exonerated and acquired of all charges in a unanimous not guilty verdict by the jury on every count. Earlier in proceedings, the judge overseeing the case nixed the government's case as to the credibility of fraud claims, finding no clear anchor of fact or evidence limiting the government's scope in prosecution on the subject charges relating to fraudulent misrepresentation or falsely inflating asset values relating to the Platinum flagship fund. After the announcement of the jury's findings in verdict, presiding Judge Brian Cogan granted the defense a request for a special motion to vacate the lesser guilty verdicts. The defense was granted by order to file motions challenging all remaining charges pertaining to the charges coinciding with the jury's guilty verdicts. In a final statement, Hon. Cogan affirmed "It's not over yet," insinuating a likely re-examination of subject matter related to the Black Elk guilty charges. On November 5, 2021, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came to a 3–0 decision to vacate Judge Brian Cogan's decision thereby reinstating Mark Nordlicht's securities fraud and two conspiracy convictions. On October 3, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by denying to review a petition filed by Mark Nordlicht and David Levy.Philanthropy
Mark Nordlicht is a founder of the Westchester Torah Academy (WTA) donating substantial funds to the yeshiva. In June 2021, Mark Nordlicht gave a commencement speech to the first eighth grade class to graduate from WTA.Personal life
Nordlicht is married and lives in New Rochelle.Bankruptcy
Mark Nordlicht filed for bankruptcy, claiming he had only $137,000 to his name. It has been alleged that he illegally transferred his house inReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordlicht, Mark Living people American financial company founders American hedge fund managers Pyramid and Ponzi schemes Stock and commodity market managers Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Financial scandals American financiers Jewish American philanthropists 1968 births Yeshiva University alumni 21st-century American Jews