Remember Andrew Oberwager and Karolina Stefansi? For those who need a refresher: they’re two highly educated kids who were once in love and are now suing each other in court. When they met, Oberwager was a PM at Columbus Circle Partners, who had earned the right to not only put the letters C, F, and A after his signature, but M and D as well, having graduated from Harvard Med school before getting into investing. Stefanski, left, was a former Playboy model from Germany, who had earned her journalism degree from Suffolk University (the $33,000 tuition for which Obes covered). Thing were good.
Then MDCFA might have started an affair with a chick from Texas he met online, a relationship Stefanski was not cool with even though it probably meant nothing to Oberwags (i.e. he didn’t put her through vet school), she moved back to Germany and cashed the blank, signed checks he had given her, including one for $80,000.
Apparently this set Andy off and in July, he sued Karolina, a) claiming those checks were “meant to pay for household expenses” and b) demanding the tuition funds be paid back, plus interest, arguing that the couple had “drawn up a contract on his personal computer” (which has since gone missing) because “she said she didn’t want charity…it was actually her idea to make it a loan.”
Anyway, Karolina has now come back to 1) let Andrew know he can go fuck himself and 2) tell the court that this man is a liar. Continue reading »
Until 2007, investment manager Andrew Oberwager and his girlfriend Karolina Stefansi were a happy, highly educated couple in love. Oberwager was a PM at Columbus Circle Partners, who had earned the right to not only put the letters C, F, and A after his signature, but M and D as well, having graduated from Harvard Med school before getting into investing. Stefanski, left, was a former Playboy model from Germany, who had earned her journalism degree from Suffolk University (the $33,000 tuition for which Obes covered). Thing were good. Then MDCFA maybe supposedly started an affair with a chick from Texas he met online, a relationship Stefanski was not cool with even though it probably meant nothing to Oberwags (i.e. he didn’t put her through vet school) and she took it to mean that upon breaking up, she was entitled to write herself a check from his account for $80,000.
Stefanski…contends the blank check was for her personal use. She wrote it out for $80,000 when she decided to return to Germany….Attorney Kurosh Marjani is arguing, however, that Stefanski had no authority to write out a blank check for $80,000. The blank check was meant to pay for household expenses, Oberwager testified Tuesday
Also? He wants the $33,00 back, too. Plus interest. Continue reading »
The more college loans and credit card debt that young adults age 18 to 27 have, the higher their self esteem — and the more control they feel they have over their lives. They tend to view debt positively, rather than as a burden. [NYT, related: drug highs vs debt highs]
Several months back, it came to light that Phil Falcone had loaned himself some $113 million from one of Harbinger’s funds to pay personal taxes. He didn’t tell anyone about it at the time because he hadn’t thought it was that big a deal but when investors finally heard about it in November, it turned out they were mighty pissed. Goldman and Blackstone pulled their entire investments from the flagship fund and even though they should’ve take the loan as a postive sign (Falcone pays his taxes! Not everyone does that!), a bunch of clients feared it was a harbinger of not very good moments to come (some where also miffed about the fact that the loan was taken from a fund in which redemptions had been suspended). We too were a bit worried and couldn’t help but going to the dark place in which Wilbur, the Falcone’s piano-playing pig was laid off, Lisa had to sell the crown jewels of her wardrobe (including The Gladiator, Mermaid Chic, and Slutty Peacock, and the couple’s bar-in-closet could no longer stock top shelf liquor. The whole thing was very stressful, so today’s news brings some sweet relief. Continue reading »
The last month or so has not been the best of times for Phil Falcone. Harbinger Capital’s flagship is down, Goldman Sachs, Blackstone and some others have pulled their money, investors have been giving him shit for borrowing $113 million from one of his funds (where redemptions had been frozen) in order to pay personal taxes, he had to put up his art as collateral to borrow even more cash (for what, it’s unclear), he’s being investigated by the SEC and Wilbur, the family’s dancing pig, has been such a god damn bitch. He told the Times none of this is any way a big deal (“The last thing I’m thinking about in the morning is whether I have a cash-flow problem,” he said) and now, he’s be forced to defend his liquidity again. This time, with regard to the mortgage he took out on his house over the summer, after buying it for $49 million in cash. Continue reading »
Late last week, it was reported that in Phil Falcone had loaned himself $113 million from one of Harbinger Capital’s funds, where redemptions had been suspended, in order to pay personal taxes. The hedge fund manager said he checked with his lawyers before borrowing the money but investors still were fairly miffed anyway. Goldman Sachs pulled its entire investment, as did Blackstone, and one client informed Reuters, “You can’t treat the fund like a personal piggy bank to pay taxes. I don’t know that there is really anything illegal about it, but it is certainly disgustingly immoral and shows a complete lack of fiduciary care.”
Which is why the sensitive ones in the bunch should be thrilled to hear that the next time Falcone needed a little money, he simply went to the bank and asked for some coin to tide himself over, rather than taking it out of their pockets and risking another lecture from mom and dad about “right” and “wrong.”
Earlier this month, Falcone and his wife posted some of their “fine art” as collateral for a secured five-year loan from Bank of America, public records show. The so-called security agreement between Bank of America and the Falcones was filed with the New York Secretary of State’s office on Nov. 4.
Continue reading »
