Ponzi Schemer's DOJ Ties Might Hurt Credibility at Trial
- Text messages suggest official helped government star witness
- Evidence complicates fraud prosecution of Amanat and Tuzman
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A hedge fund founder under investigation in 2012 for running a Ponzi scheme allegedly got some unsanctioned advice from a high-ranking Justice Department official: Keep the phone calls and emails to sports and weather, because the FBI might be watching.
Jamie Yavelberg, a deputy director in the Justice Department’s civil fraud division in Washington, provided the guidance to Stephen Maiden through her brother Michael Yavelberg, a jury was told by a lawyer trying to undermine Maiden’s credibility as the government’s star witness in a fraud trial. The jury was shown text messages during Maiden’s cross-examination.