The CPA & the diva
Did Tilton accountant see more than her books?
Things heated up quickly at Lynn Tilton’s fraud hearing on Thursday when her lawyers insinuated that the service her outside accountant provided was a little too personal.
Amid mundane questioning of the accountant, Peter Berlant, about audits and GAAP-compliant reviews, Tilton’s lawyers showed the CPA an e-mail from 2003 about a dinner the two shared at a Manhattan restaurant.
Wasn’t this “the dinner where your wife accused you of having an affair” with Tilton, the lawyer, Mark A. Kirsch, asked.
Berlant, under cross-examination by Kirsch, initially denied the interaction — but then said, after being reminded he was under oath: “I don’t know what [my wife] thought.”
The dramatic turn of events came as Berlant was shown the e-mail he sent to Tilton: “Will we ever get over the unfortunate evening?”
Tilton’s defense team claimed the e-mail was referring to Ms. Berlant’s accusation. Kirsch was attempting to undermine Berlant’s credibility.
The accountant, a witness for the Securities and Exchange Commission, had claimed he had little interaction with Tilton.
Tilton, known as the Diva of Distressed Debt, is charged by the SEC with civil fraud — for hiding the true value of assets in one of her funds in order to collect $200 million in fees.
Tilton denies the allegations, claiming she only signed off on the valuations after Berlant approved the company’s financial statements.
Berlant’s testimony that he had little contact with Tilton — just dozens of interactions over a period of 16 years — and didn’t approve the financials of her Patriarch Partners was aimed at undercutting her defense.
The accountant testified that despite billing roughly $600 an hour, he was not employed to do a comprehensive review of the firm’s financial statements — only to check for “silly mistakes.”
The SEC administrative hearing, in Manhattan federal court, finished its fourth day on Thursday.
Tilton, known on Wall Street for her flamboyant style — in the late 1990s she sent colleagues a Christmas card with a photo on the front of her dressed as a dominatrix — pointed her finger in the air after her lawyer’s heated exchange with Berlant, as if to declare victory in the battle.