(Reuters) Lawyers defending Platinum Partners founder Mark Nordlicht in a $1 billion fraud case on Thursday said they would no longer pursue their appeal of a federal judge\u2019s order restricting the attorneys\u2019 contact with potential government witnesses. In a motion in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nordlicht\u2019s lawyers said they were satisfied with U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry\u2019s statement at a court hearing on Monday that she had not intended to \u201cpreclude you from speaking to an attorney for a prospective witness or even a prospective witness,\u201d as long as they did not intimidate witnesses.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors in December charged Nordlicht and six other executives at the hedge fund firm with running a $1 billion \u201cPonzi-like\u201d fraud in which they overvalued assets and selectively paid some investors ahead of others. All pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n