Wolf Haldenstein Files Class Action Suit

Class Action

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against defendants Beacon Associates Management Corp. ("Beacon Associates"), Joel Danziger, Esq. ("Danziger"), Harris Markhoff, Esq. ("Markhoff"), Ivy Asset Management Corp. ("Ivy Asset Management"), the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ("BONY"), Friedberg Smith & Co., P.C. ("Friedberg Smith") and John Does 1-100 (collectively, the "Defendants"), on behalf of all persons, other than Defendants, who invested in Beacon Associates LLC I (the "Fund") from August 9, 2004 until the present (the "Class Period"), and derivatively on behalf of the nominal defendant, Beacon Associates LLC I, to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and common law claims, including breach of fiduciary duties.


The case name is styled Cacoulidis v. Beacon Associates Management Corp., et al., 09 civ. 00777. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP website at www.whafh.com.The Complaint asserts that during the Class Period, unbeknownst to investors, Defendant Beacon Associates, the Managing Member of the Fund, concentrated more than half of the Fund's investment capital with entities managed by Bernard Madoff ("Madoff") or Madoff-related entities. Investors who entrusted their savings to Beacon Associates suffered millions in damages as a result of Madoff's fraudulent scheme.This Complaint alleges that Defendants failed to perform the necessary due diligence that they were being compensated to perform as investment advisors, managers and fiduciaries, and proximately caused millions of dollars in losses. Defendants either knew or should have known that the Fund's assets were employed as part of a massive Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Madoff. Defendants ignored numerous red flags, including the abnormally high and stable positive investment results reportedly achieved by Madoff regardless of market conditions; inconsistencies between Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC's ("BMIS") publicly available financial information concerning its assets and the purported amounts that Madoff managed for clients; and the fact that BMIS was audited by a small, obscure accounting firm.


Additionally, Defendants Beacon Associates, Danziger and Markhoff issued an Offering Memorandum that was false and misleading because it falsely stated that the Fund's assets would be invested in a number of investment vehicles, including a "Large Cap Strategy adopted by Beacon Associates itself, when in reality, unbeknownst to investors, the vast majority of the assets in the Fund were invested in Madoff-controlled entities. The Offering Memorandum also falsely stated that Beacon Associates would monitor the Fund's performance as well as the performance of each third party manager of the Fund's assets, to ensure that they adhered to their stated investment objectives. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants Beacon Associates, Danziger, Markhoff, and Ivy Asset Management, with no or inadequate due diligence or oversight, abdicated their responsibilities and entrusted the Fund's assets to Madoff-run investment vehicles. Plaintiffs further allege that Defendant Friedberg Smith failed to conduct a proper audit of the Fund's financial statements.

Related listings

  • Court upholds a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims

    Court upholds a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims

    Class Action 06/22/2024

    The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal gun control law that is intended to protect victims of domestic violence.In their first Second Amendment case since they expanded gun rights in 2022, the justices ruled 8-1 in favor of a 1994 ban on firear...

  • Appeals court: Illinois counties must end ICE contracts

    Appeals court: Illinois counties must end ICE contracts

    Class Action 01/14/2022

    A federal appeals court has ruled two counties that hold immigrant detainees at local jails must terminate contracts with federal authorities starting Thursday. Leaders in Kankakee and McHenry counties sued over an Illinois law aimed at ending immigr...

  • US Senate confirms Menendez as federal judge in Minnesota

    US Senate confirms Menendez as federal judge in Minnesota

    Class Action 12/20/2021

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Kate M. Menendez has been confirmed by the Senate to fill Minnesota’s federal court vacancy, the state’s two senators announced over the weekend. Menendez was nominated by President Joe Biden in September. She appear...

Thai National Sentenced, Faces Deportation for Operating Immigration Fraud Scheme

Nimon Naphaeng, 36, a native and citizen of Thailand, who resided in Wakefield, R.I., was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for running an immigration fraud scheme that defrauded more than 320 individuals, most of them immigrants, of at least $400,000, and perhaps more than $518,000. The scheme included the unauthorized filing of false asylum applications on behalf of individuals who did not request, nor authorize, the applications.

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does not tolerate immigration fraud of any kind,” said Susan Raufer, director of the USCIS Newark Asylum Office. “We are proud of our role in uncovering this fraud scheme and bringing the perpetrator to justice.”

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith ordered a provisional amount of restitution of $400,000. The final amount of restitution will be determined subject to additional victims being identified and additional court filings over the next 90 days. According to court documents already filed by the government, restitution in this matter may exceed $518,300. During the investigation, the government seized $285,789.31 from Naphaeng. The forfeited funds will be applied toward restitution for victims of Naphaeng’s crimes.

Business News

Eugene, OR Criminal Defense DUII Attorney MJM Law Office was founded to provide clients with representation in Criminal Defense. >> read