New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Greenwich-based hedge fund SageCrest Finance has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  The credit opportunity fund, which grants short-term loan to companies left with few financing alternatives, said its recent losses were due to the condition of the debt markets coupled with mounting lawsuits. 

The fund once managed around $900 million.  Current assets are listed at $50-$100 million.  In addition to providing short term capital to businesses, SageCrest also extended loans to plaintiffs in slip-and-fall lawsuits.  They also dabbled in the art world and are caught in a nasty battle mired with scandal to retrieve $40 million which they claim is owed to them.

SageCrest is run by Alan and Philip Morton.  The fund has had its recent share of bad press, with two investors suing the company for various reasons this year.  Westerly Capital filed a suit in June claiming the managers ran the fund to their own benefit and to the detriment of its clients.  This followed an earlier suit by Wood Creek Capital Management, who claimed that SageCrest did not adhere to its redemption policy.   

In a petition filed on Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Connecticut, SageCrest listed debts in the range of $1 million to $10 million.

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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