NYC lawyer in court over missing $2M that investors fear is gone for good after mystery transfer

"A Brooklyn attorney tasked with holding onto $2 million of investor funds made a mystery transfer the same day he received the cash - and it remains missing, according to new court filings. And lawyers for the foreign investors are now alleging that some of the funds may have landed in longtime Democratic power-broker Frank Seddio's account. The businessmen have been trying to recoup their multi-million dollar investment for about a year, as the case has gotten dragged out in court, hindered by Seddio's alleged legal machinations, they claim."

"But it was revealed in court this week that the funds were transferred to an anonymous third party, a shell company called 536 Holdings LLC, the same day they landed in lawyer Mark David Graubard's escrow account. Graubard - who was supposed to keep the money in escrow for the sole purpose of proving the two potential investors had the funds for a proposed deal - filed bank records showing $2 million entering and leaving his account."

"He claimed in court papers that all transactions "were done pursuant to written instructions by persons who had authority to do so." But only the investors had the right to make any decisions about the money, according to the signed escrow agreements, including a clause that Graubard couldn't touch "any part of the Escrow Deposit for any reason or in any way" without their written permission. Previously, Graubard maintained he had the money, and that he was ready to deposit it with the court when a prior judge on the case ordered him to last summer. He never did. The new documents could bolster a long held fear of the investors' that their money is long gone."

A Brooklyn attorney received $2 million into an escrow account and transferred the exact amount the same day to an anonymous third party, 536 Holdings LLC. The attorney, Mark David Graubard, filed bank records showing the deposit and the outgoing transfer and said the transactions followed written instructions from authorized persons. Signed escrow agreements, however, granted only the investors decision authority and prohibited Graubard from touching any part of the deposit without written permission. Investors' lawyers identified suspicious transactions, including one to Frank Seddio's law firm, and noted the account was closed in June without disclosure. Investors fear the funds are gone.

Read at New York Post