Seabrook was arrested at 6 a.m.
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A day after Norman Seabrook was arrested, there is now a new president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
The former president agreed to “direct transfers of millions of dollars” in union retiree benefit and operating funds to the hedge fund, according to a 17-page indictment released Wednesday.
Huberfeld is accused of participating in a scheme to hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Seabrook in exchange for investments in his fund, Platinum Partners, L.P., according to the complaint. Huberfeld paid Seabrook an initial kickback of $60,000, according to court documents. United States district attorney Preet Bharara will reportedly announce formal charges of honest wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest wire fraud against the two men Wednesday afternoon at a press conference. A person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters that Jona Rechnitz, a NY real estate investor, introduced Seabrook to Platinum. The witness connected Seabrook with Huberfeld, who was looking to attract investors in the public realm. In March 2014, COBA’s Annuity Fund made a $10 million investment in one of Platinum’s funds.
While ValueWalk has learned some interesting things about Platinum Partners and has profiled the fund returns, there are questions as Zeke Faux of Bloomberg News has recently reported on some of the issues. Huberfeld, the founder or Centurion Credit Management, which was later subsumed by the top-performing Platinum Partners, was taken into custody at his home at about the same time.
In one instance in 2014, confidential witnesses claimed to have purchased an expensive Salvatore Ferragamo bag in which they allegedly placed $60,000 in cash for Seabrook, who “was angry that it was not as much money as he was initially promised”, ABC7 added.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says if the federal corruption charges are true, “it’s disgusting” and “very, very sad”.
The corruption investigation has centered on Rechnitz and another businessman, Jeremy Reichberg, and whether they gave police officers gifts and trips in exchange for official favors.
De Blasio sought on Wednesday to distance himself from Seabrook.
The cash was delivered by an unnamed intermediary to Seabrook, according to the complaint.
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The cooperating witness, whose description matches that of Rechnitz but whom the criminal complaint refers to only as “CW-1”, first met Seabrook through a police officer in 2013.
