Marc Dreier Led Sham Law Life for 4 Years, Magazine Says
It looked like Marc Dreier had a super-successful law practice. But for at least four years before he was accused late last year of defrauding sophisticated investors and clients of some $400 million, the New York lawyer’s seemingly opulent professional life was allegedly a sham.
Dumped in 2006 by his most important client, billionaire real estate developer Sheldon Solow, Dreier borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from a wealthy friend to decorate his luxe Park Avenue headquarters, reports American Lawyer in a lengthy cover story this month.
His celebrated one-partner management model 250-attorney law firm, too, was losing money, the magazine says, even though Dreier covered the bills and got often-hefty paychecks out on time—until the firm imploded in December of last year. One possible source of funds was the hedge funds Dreier had been fleecing since 2004, according to a Jan. 29 federal indictment.
And, even as it became clear, in early November of last year, that his professional house of cards was about to collapse, Dreier allegedly made a desperate attempt to collect $40 million from another alleged hedge fund scam, the article recounts.
A month after Dreier was told by a partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker that the partner would go to police if Dreier couldn’t prove he wasn’t responsible for a forged audit report, Dreier traveled to Toronto, the magazine reports. There he allegedly tried to pass himself off as a lawyer for a pension fund guaranteeing another pension fund’s notes, which Dreier is accused of trying to sell to a hedge fund.
Arrested later that same day in Toronto, Dreier made bail–possibly by transferring money from a client trust account by telephone, as he allegedly did while sitting in jail there–and flew home. There he was arrested by federal authorities. The Jan. 29 indictment charges him with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud.
After his arrest in early December, Dreier’s circle of influence narrowed considerably. Known for his natty attire, he arrived in prison blues for at least one of what the magazine describes as “a series of brutal hearings that exposed Dreier as a broken, friendless man.” Eventually, he was released on $10 million bail guaranteed by his mother and son, and is now under house arrest in his $12 million New York home.
“These are really extraordinary facts,” a federal magistrate judge said at a Jan. 22 bail hearing, as the Am Law article notes. “His behavior was reckless, clever, improvising. Frankly, it suggests a mental disorder.”
Although Dreier has pleaded not guilty in the case, his lawyer, Gerald Shargel, has indicated that he may be ready to accept the right plea deal. “We’re looking for a fair and appropriate resolution of the matter,” he told the Wall Street Journal in January, after Dreier was indicted.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawsuit Should Have Alerted Others of Dreier Issues, Former Colleague Says”
ABAJournal.com: “Attorney Marc Dreier Gets Unsecured $10M Bail, Under Strict House Arrest”
ABAJournal.com: “Attorney Marc Dreier is Indicted in Alleged $400M Schemes”
ABAJournal.com: “Dreier’s Extravagant Lifestyle: ‘Dazzling’ Homes and $200K Secretaries”
ABAJournal.com: “How Attorney Marc Dreier Allegedly Sold Worthless Forged Paper for $113M”
