Marc Dreier

  • 12 Dec 2008 at 3:49 PM

Potential Dreier Entanglees

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Yes, it is easy to forget about the Dreier case when all this Make-off stuff is going on, but there are other frauds, dear friends.
Looking through the Grand Jury Subpoena to Dreier LLP, we find the following request for production:
All documents relating to or referencing:
Kosta Kovachev
Armando Ruiz
Robert Miller
Paulson & Co
Elliott Associates
Kempner Davidson
Baupost
DellaCamera
Sandell Asset
Fortress Capital or Fortress Investment Group
Perella Weinberg
Eton Park
GSO
Meyer Venture Partners
Concordia Partners
Enterprise Fund Ltd
Archery
MEA Properties
Four Winds
Bennington
Novatar
Verition
Wow. Some rather “not so slouchy” firms on this list. Of course, none of this means these firms and individuals were actual victims of Dreier LLP, but it is a good first guess at who is (and isn’t) involved.
Dreier Subpoena (pdf) [The Wall Street Journal] (Hat Tip: Naked Shorts)

  • 11 Dec 2008 at 12:33 PM

Dreier Sheets

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And you thought he had only stolen about $100 million. Bollocks! The “Houdini of impersonation” (U.S. Attorneys have the most colorful nicknaming skills) has bilked unnamed funds out of $380 million. U.S. Attorneys also have great powers of suggestion. Tell us, what’s the first thing you think when we tell you he has $40 million in art hanging on his office walls? Exactly.
Of course, no one wants to admit to being duped by the guy, so we are relying on you to give us the dirt. Who was it? You guys are the best informed readers in the financial tabloid world. We know you know. Let’s start naming some names. Fortress was only named because they were smart enough (or simply not quite dumb enough) to fall for Houdini. That’s no fun, at all.
Lawyer Dreier, ‘Houdini of Impersonation,’ U.S. Says [Bloomberg]

  • 08 Dec 2008 at 1:44 PM

Would You Give $50 Million To This Man?

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rsdss.jpgWhat do you do when maintaining the artifice of your series of fraudulent transactions is threatened by the credit crunch? Why, impersonate a pension fund lawyer and get $50 million from Fortress, of course.

According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Dreier was attempting to secure tens of millions of dollars from Fortress Investment Group LLC, a New York asset-management firm, by impersonating an Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan attorney in a sham business transaction. Fortress asked for certain guarantees from the pension plan, which Mr. Dreier represented to be involved in the deal when it wasn’t, these people allege. These people say problems arose for Mr. Dreier when Fortress representatives wanted to meet with pension-plan managers in person.
On Tuesday, Mr. Dreier arranged a meeting in Toronto with Ontario Teachers’ on an unrelated matter, gaining him access to their offices, the people familiar with the matter said. They said that instead of leaving after the meeting, Mr. Dreier waited in the office for the arrival of Howard Steinberg, a Fortress executive, who thought he was meeting with an Ontario Teachers’ lawyer.
The people familiar with the matter allege that Mr. Dreier intercepted the Fortress executive, took him to a conference room, and began a meeting in which he pretended to be Michael Padfield, an in-house lawyer with the pension plan. According to the people familiar with the situation, Mr. Dreier handed out a business card with Mr. Padfield’s name and signed documents as Mr. Padfield. Mr. Padfield couldn’t be reached for comment.

Mr. Steiberg got suspicious and Dreier wandered off, got in the elevator and vanished.
“Hi, I’m Mr. Dreier…er… Padfield… damn! Can we start over?” apparently didn’t go so well.*
*Ok, so we made that up.
Dreier Faces Federal Charges [The Wall Street Journal]