Adam Hochfelder
Real estate executive Adam Hochfelder pleaded guilty today to scamming $18 million from investors, relatives and banks during a five-year period, authorities said.
Hochfelder, chairman and CEO of Midtown-based Max Capital Management, admitted to multiple counts of grand larceny and scheme to defraud, the office of the Manhattan district attorney said.
Investigators said from 2002 to 2007 he accepted millions in personal loans from banks and individuals through misrepresentations of his personal wealth. He also obtained nearly $2 million from individuals through misrepresentation of his interest in a deal to buy Peaks Resort and Spa in Telluride, Colo., prosecutors said.
Hochfelder co-founded Max Capital in 1996 with developer Richard Kalikow, prosecutors said. Hochfelder bought out Kalikow in 2002.
Hochfelder, who has agreed to pay $9.5 million in restitution, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 7, authorities said. TRD