A New Jersey convict implicated in the Kushner Cos. tax scandal is suing a New Rochelle man accused of fraud in the $1 billion Platinum Partners hedge fund debacle, for $14.9 million.
Richard Stadtmauer of Livingston, New Jersey, and his wife Marisa, sued Mark Nordlicht and his wife, Dahlia Kalter, Feb. 5 in Westchester Supreme Court.
“Mr. Nordlicht has engaged in a complex, far-reaching scheme to alienate assets and property to make himself judgment proof,” the lawsuit states.
“Though he managed a hedge fund ”¦ with over a billion dollars in assets under management and has substantial wealth from other professional activities and family inheritance, Mr. Nordlicht claims that he does not even hold a bank account in his name.”
Kalter and attorneys who represent Nordlicht did not respond to an email message requesting their side of the story.
Stadtmauer, who was second in command at the Kushner Cos. real estate empire in New Jersey, was sentenced to federal prison for 38 months on his 2008 conviction for conspiracy to defraud the United States and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.
He is the uncle of President Trump”™s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the brother-in-law of Charles Kushner, who served 14 months in prison for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.
Nordlicht co-founded Platinum Partners in 2003. At one point, the hedge fund purportedly had $1.7 billion in assets under management. In 2016 he was indicted on several counts of securities fraud.
Last year, he was found guilty of defrauding bondholders, but acquitted on several charges. The presiding judge ordered a new trial, citing insufficient evidence of criminal intent.
The Stadtmauers loaned $10.5 million to Platinum Partners in 2016 ”“ seven months before Nordlicht was indicted. He personally guaranteed the debt, according to the complaint, the hedge fund quickly defaulted on the obligation and Nordlicht “refused to honor the guaranty.”
The dispute was submitted to binding arbitration and last month the Stadtmauers were awarded $14.9 million, including interest and legal fees.
Now they are accusing Nordlicht and Kalter of transferring assets worth tens of millions of dollars to offshore trusts and shell companies to get out of paying the debt.
The goal, according to the Stadtmauers, was to allow Nordlicht to claim poverty to his creditors while remaining in control of the assets.
First, they would organize a shell company with Kalter as the nominal owner. Second, Nordlicht allegedly directed or participated in the company”™s financial decisions. Third, they moved assets from the shell company to accounts held by Kalter or an affiliated party.
“By conducting his affairs this way,” the complaint states, “Mr. Nordlicht enjoys all the benefits of owning very significant assets while telling creditors they are not his.”
Nordlicht and Kalter, a lawyer who specializes in trusts and estates, allegedly concealed ownership of a luxury condominium on the Upper West Side, a condominium in the Ritz-Carlton Bar Harbour in Miami Beach, and their home in New Rochelle.
For instance, the New Rochelle home on Trenor Drive was originally bought in 2004 under Kalter”™s name, for $1.1 million. In 2014, when Platinum Partners allegedly began to experience liquidity problems, the property was deeded to Gilad Kalter and Cook Islands Trust Limited for $0.
But a 2019 petition to reduce the property taxes lists three owners, according to the complaint, including Kalter, Trenor Investment Partners LP and Dahlia Kalter Trenor Trust.
“Nothing could be clearer evidence that these entities are all simply alter ego shell companies,” the complaint states. “They have no purpose other than to fraudulently alienate assets and hinder creditors.”
The Stadtmauers accuse Nordlicht and Kalter of fraud. They are demanding $14.9 million and are asking the court to prevent the New Rochelle house and Upper West Side condo from being transferred. The Miami Beach condo has already been sold.
