James Nicholson, a Saddle River hedge fund manager accused of bilking investors of as much as $160 million, has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to charges his Westgate Capital Management LLC was a Ponzi scheme.
A plea hearing is set for noon Friday in federal court in Manhattan, according to a court order signed by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan.
Erika Edwards, one of Nicholson's attorneys, said Monday she and federal prosecutors have verbally reached an agreement, but she declined to provide details as they continue to work out a formal settlement that would be signed by Nicholson.
Nicholson, 43, ran Westgate, based in Rockland County, for a decade, until he was arrested in late February. His alleged scheme collapsed in December 2008, when $5 million in investor redemption checks bounced, and other investors were unable to claim millions of dollars, prosecutors in New York said. Nicholson is charged with securities, investment adviser and mail fraud as well as structuring [for allegedly trying to avoid reporting currency transactions], and faces a maximum of 65 years in prison.
A conclusion of the criminal case against Nicholson would set the stage for prosecutors to begin helping Westgate's more than 370 investors — some of whom have apparently lost much of their savings, retirement and children's college funds — recoup some
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