Dakota lawyers cite Fletcher’s incomplete Harvard gift as evidence of financial woes

The Dakota’s co-op board has pointed to Alphonse Fletcher Jr.’s failure to make good on a $4.5 million donation to Harvard University as evidence of the disgraced hedge fund manager’s shaky finances, the New York Post reported. Fletcher sued the co-op board, claiming that they denied him a chance to purchase a fifth unit in the building because he is African-American. The board contends that Fletcher’s financial issues were the reason for the denial.

Lawyers for the board pressed their case in court yesterday, while Fletcher’s lawyers contended that the gift was not binding. It appears that Fletcher did not give a cash donation to the school, but instead issued company warrants that expired and effectively lost their value, the Post said.

Fletcher and the Dakota, at 1 West 72nd Street across from Central Park, have been tangled in a lawsuit for over two years, as previously reported.

Fletcher’s finances have indeed worsened, the Post said. Last month, the Internal Revenue Service slapped him with a $1.4 million tax lien for the nonpayment of back taxes from 2010. One of his hedge funds is also currently undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization, the Post said. [NYP] —Zachary Kussin