WEST PALM BEACH, FL (HEDGECO.NET) – A hedge fund manager who disappeared three months ago with millions of dollars belonging to at least 500 investors now has 24 additional counts in his federalfraud case.
Kirk Wright, formerly of supposed hedge fund, International Management Associates, skipped town after it became clear to many of his clients, which include several prominent National Football League players, that something was amiss with Interntaional Management’s “management†of their money.
Wright and his company were accused of collecting between $115 million and $185 million from at least 500 investors since 1997 and misleading some of them through false statements and documents, to believe the value of those investments was increasing.
He now also faces 21 counts of mail fraud and three counts of securities fraud. Additionally, Wright and his company face a federal lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission filed Feb. 27 and a civil complaint filed in Georgia state court on Feb. 17. He was arrested May 17 in Miami after three months as a fugitive.
According to company website, Wright received his master’s degree from Harvard University and is an established financial adviser and former vice president of the global consulting practice at Kaiser Associates, an international consulting firm.
Examples of Wright’s alleged duplicity are listed in court documents. When several investors demanded to see brokerage account statements from hedge funds in October, Wright produced statements he said were from online brokerage Ameritrade, showing over $166.6 million in assets spread across five hedge funds. To date, authorities and creditors have located less than $200,000.
In hindsight, there were many red flags at International Management: unusually consistent high returns, vague descriptions of investment strategies, aggressive marketing, no auditing, and secretive behavior by the manager. Not to mention the lavish wedding reception at his sprawling home, the $55,000 engagement ring his bride wore, the entertainment suites at Atlanta Falcon football games, Atlanta Hawk basketball games, and concerts, the Bentley, the Jaguar, the Aston Martin, the BMW, and the Lamborghini, and as proof of his investment returns, only photocopied spreadsheets.
Alex Akesson
Contributing Writer
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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