‘FAKE DEATH’ INVESTOR FOUND GUILTY

NEW YORK: Mark Malik, the New York hedge fund manager who once faked his death to avoid repaying an investor, was found guilty of fraud after a two-week trial in New York state court.

The jury convicted Malik, 33, of all 28 counts, including grand larceny and securities fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

“Our message is clear: If you commit securities fraud in New York, we will bring you to justice,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in announcing the guilty verdict.

Malik, who was born Moazzam Ifzal Malikwas, was arrested earlier this year for allegedly stealing more than US$800,000 from a local and international investors.

Malik presented himself to investors as an experienced trader with a degree from Harvard University, Mr Schniederman said. In fact, his previous jobs included work as a traffic agent for the New York Police Department and as a waiter and bus boy for Max Brenner in Manhattan’s Union Square neighbourhood. During the trial, Malik took the witness stand against the recommendation of his attorney. Wearing a khaki pants and a grey sweater, he told the jury that he dreamed of working on Wall Street after getting large tips of between $50 and $100 from a former Max Brenner customer. One day Malik asked the customer what he did for a living and he said he worked on Wall Street, Malik said. That prompted Malik to seek a job on Wall Street, where he worked briefly at a brokerage firm before soliciting money for his hedge fund, which went by various names including Wolff Hedge. Malik’s investors also took the stand to testify that he toyed with them when they asked for their money back.

“I had excuses, delays,” testified New York real estate agent William Breedlove, who lost $12,000 to Malik. The hopeful hedge fund manager would claim that “he was busy, that he was travelling, that he was trying to recruit other investors, that he was bust with markets and could not get back to me,” Mr Breedlove said.

Malik once went so far as to fake his a heart attack to avoid repaying investors, according to the government.

In September 2013, a fictitious employee named Courtney sent an email to an investor who had been asking for his money back to report that they delay was because Malik had died.