When last we checked in with Dan Kamensky, he was begging his bank “not to put me in jail” on account of having allegedly bullied said bank into not bidding for a thing he wanted, which higher bid would have been very good for the Neiman Marcus creditors committee on which he served, closing down that hedge fund—Marble Ridge Capital—as a result, forcing that hedge fund into the awkward position of arguing that doing so didn’t actually hurt the bankrupt retailer, and oh yea getting arrested and sued by the SEC. So, uh, how much worse can things get for the disgraced hedge fund manager? Well, quite a bit worse, actually.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David Jones…. called Kamensky a “thief” and a “liar” who attempted to steal from other Neiman Marcus creditors, “not because of need, but out of pure greed….”
“I don’t think you are a nice person. And I would like to treat you the way you have treated other people, but I would be tarnishing my oath,” Jones said.
That is apparently judge-speak for, “I’m of more than half a mind to throw out this settlement requiring you to pay $1.4 million, and not to make things easier on you.”
Judge Jones said that Kamensky has done damage to the Neiman Marcus bankruptcy case and that his conduct has undermined unsecured creditor committees, tarnished the trustees who appointed him and taken a case that should have been a model for a reorganization and made it a discussion about wrongdoing.
“The damage to this case is not measured by fees but will take a long time to repair,” Jones said.
So much for no actual harm, then. Anyway, Kamensky took the tongue-lashing silenty. The next time he’s in a courtroom, virtually or otherwise, he’s probably going to have to say either one or two words, which is to say: Things have not stopped getting worse for him.
Kamensky is accused by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York of fraud and extortion while serving as co-chairman of the unsecured creditors committee in the Neiman Marcus Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In September, he was also charged with securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.
Nieman Marcus bankruptcy court Judge David Jones calls hedge fund manager a thief and a liar [Dallas Morning News]