Prosecution Surprises in Jared Solomon Vornado Fraud Case

In his opening statement earlier this week, Jared Solomon’s defense attorney vehemently denied the government’s allegations that his client had created a fake brokerage to scam millions of dollars from his employer, Vornado Realty Trust.

“I want you all to know, there’s no fake company,” defense attorney Peter Toumbekis told the jury Tuesday. “You’re going to see the evidence. They’re real companies.”

As it turns out, Solomon already told prosecutors the company was bogus. Now the feds are calling Toumbekis out for his dodgy opening remarks, and it could have a major impact on the trial.

On Wednesday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office wrote a letter to the judge overseeing the case, Loretta Preska, informing her that several of the statements Toumbekis made during his opening statement contradict what Solomon had told them about his alleged plot.

After Solomon was arrested in December 2024, he participated in a proffer session with prosecutors, in which he apparently admitted to several parts of the crimes he’s accused of.

“During defense counsel’s opening statement, he made repeated, unequivocal factual

assertions to the jury that are squarely contradicted by the defendant’s admissions during his

proffer,” prosecutors wrote to the judge.

One of those statements was about Margoux Media, the brokerage company at the heart of the prosecution’s case. Through Margoux, Solomon had submitted invoices to Vornado for a lease at the digital billboard at the REIT’s 1540 Broadway, even though the tenant, advertising firm Havas, testified it did not have a broker in the negotiations.

“The defendant admitted that Margoux Media was not a real company,” prosecutors wrote.

Toumbekis also denied in his opening statement that Solomon had faked business documents to open up an account at JPMorgan Chase for the brokerage.

“You’re going to hear the JPMorgan guy. He’s going to testify, ‘Jared set up an account. Gave them the paperwork.’ Nothing fake about the paperwork,” he told the jury.

But that, also, was wrong.

“When shown a copy of the Margoux Media business certificate, the defendant acknowledged that he created the Margoux Media ‘Business Certificate’ and sent it to JPMorgan Chase Bank to open a bank account, and that it was not an actual business document,” prosecutors wrote in their letter to the judge.

And Toumbekis told the jury that his client didn’t add false signatures on key documents: “Everything is documented. There’s no false signatures on these documents.”

But the prosecutors said Solomon “admitted that he personally signed as ‘Mark Mallet’ and

‘Gary McCorry”’ for Margoux Media.”

Now, it’s possible that Solomon’s own words could be used against him in court. According to the terms of the proffer agreement, the prosecutors could enter Solomon’s statements as evidence to rebut any contradictory statements made during the trial. The U.S. Attorney’s office has asked Preska to admit the proffer statements as evidence.

Toumbekis did not respond to a request for comment.

During the first three days of the trial, the prosecution called nine witnesses and presented hundreds of documents that meticulously laid out how Solomon created a trio of brokerage companies and then — through his job as a leasing agent for Vornado — submitted invoices for his employer to pay those companies as the tenant reps on the other side of his deals.

The government says he pocketed $9.5 million this way.

One of the properties he oversaw was a large digital billboard in Times Square leased to the electronics giant LG.

Glen Weiss, Vornado’s head of leasing and Solomon’s supervisor, testified on Wednesday that it didn’t occur to him to check if his leasing agent was living a double life.

“I trusted Jared Solomon,” he said.

Toumbekis hasn’t called any witnesses. And his cross examinations have done little to support the case he laid out in his opening remarks that the companies Solomon created were legit brokerages doing bonafide work.

The prosecution and defense expect to give closing statements Tuesday.

As they concluded the trial’s third day on Thursday afternoon, Toumbekis told the judge he expects his closing remarks next week to be brief.