New York (HedgeCo.Net) – A former Florida hedge fund manager is being held without bail in a West Palm Beach prison after prosecutors convinced the judge he is a flight risk. 

Attorneys for Won-Sok Lee were seeking a continuance for his arraignment on Friday so that he could find a local lawyer.  

Lee and his company, The KL Group, were accused of swindling over $200 million out of investors through their hedge funds back in 2006.  He was arrested in February after trying to board a plane from Seoul to Argentina after spending three years on the run.  

Lee and his brothers, who are currently serving lengthy prison terms, ran hedge funds out of locations in Florida and Nevada from 2000 to 2005.

Lee is facing dozens of charges, including conspiracy, money laundering, and mail and wire fraud.  His next hearing is scheduled for April 17.

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

HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Be sure to check out our sister sites. www.hedgefundlounge.com, www.hedgefundtools.com, and www.hedgefundemployment.com  

Tags: accredited-investors, arraignment, conspiracy, continuance, dozens, flight risk, hedge-fund-manager, hedgeco, kl group, lengthy-prison-terms, mail, money-laundering, palm-beach, prosecutors, seoul, sister-sites, sok, wire-fraud

Mail Online – IT’S where a hedgehog lives. MAY, six

A hedge fund is a money-hedge and we have one at the bottom of our garden. SAM, six

I’VE seen a hedge fund before. They have one at the hospital, outside the main door. KIERAN, six

I think you might find a hedge fund in a shop. It’s definitely a better thing than a credit crunch.  MILLIE-MAY, seven

Read Complete Article

Tags: credit crunch, hedgehog, kieran, mail, millie, money, sixi

West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net)- Kirk Wright’s Atlanta-based hedge fund company, International Management Associates, was found to be fraudlent leading to the conviction of the manager, Wright, as the Department of Justice unsealed a March 10 criminal complaint against him.

"The complaint alleges a fraud involving $150 million to $180 million in missing investor assets managed by Wright’s funds, International Management Associates and International Management Associates Advisory Group," said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias in a statement.

The federal complaint charges mail fraud, executed by mailing a set of false asset statements to IMA investor Stephen Atwater. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on conviction.

According to authorities, Wright and his company collected more than $150 million spread across thousands of client accounts since 1997 and used false statements and documents to mislead some of them to believe the value of those investments was increasing.

Sentencing is set for August 26.

Alex Akesson

Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: alex@hedgeco.net

HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com

Tags: accounting-firm, boston, brokerages, david-nahmias, department-of-finance, director-john, due-diligence-service, hauser, luxury-cars, mail, national-football-league, prison-term, real-estate-investment-trusts, reversals