Mark Nordlicht, the former hedge fund founder facing criminal charges in the alleged $1 billion Platinum Partners securities fraud, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.
Nordlicht, who once managed $1.7 billion in assets, declared personal assets of $137,052 and liabilities of more than $206 million in a petition filed June 29 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains.
He listed no work income, but “if Mr. Nordlicht”™s criminal situation is resolved successfully,” the petition states, “he anticipates being able to resume employment at that time.”
Nordlicht, 52, of New Rochelle, co-founded Platinum Partners in 2003. In 2016, the federal prosecutor in Brooklyn accused him of defrauding bond holders and looting assets in a “Ponzi-like” investment fraud.
Last year a jury found Nordlicht guilty on three charges and acquitted him on five charges. The trial judge overturned the guilty verdicts, citing insufficient evidence of criminal intent, and granted a new trial.
The Justice Department has appealed the judge”™s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Nordlicht”™s bankruptcy petition lists $132,000 in financial assets, $2,500 for electronics, $2,500 for clothing and $52 in a bank account.
Most of the $206 million in liabilities are for lawsuit claims he disputes.
For instance, he disputes claims of more than $32 million by Richard and Marisa Stadtmauer of Livingston, New Jersey. They accused him in one lawsuit of personally guaranteeing a $10.5 million loan to Platinum Partners, just seven months before he was indicted. Nordlicht and his wife, Dahlia Kalter, they allege, moved millions of dollars in assets, including the New Rochelle house Kalter bought for $1.1 million in 2004, to offshore trusts and shell companies to avoid paying their debts.
Richard Stadtmauer is the uncle of Jared Kushner, President Trump”™s son-in-law, and was second in command at the Kushner Cos. real estate empire in New Jersey. He was convicted in 2008 and served 14 months in prison on charges of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.
Nordlicht attributes the vast majority of family income to his wife, who is not part of the bankruptcy action. Her monthly income includes $3,325 from her law practice, $6,526 in other business income and $23,750 from her husband”™s mother.
The $206 million in personal liabilities do not include debts listed as “unknown.”
Pending legal actions include estimated potential legal judgments of about $1.5 billion. For instance, a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan is seeking $800 million from Platinum Management, and Nordlicht is being sued for $500 million in the Grand Court of Cayman Islands.
Nordlicht is represented by Manhattan bankruptcy attorney Abraham Backenroth.
He served 41 months