Prosecutors Probe Hedge Fund Titan's Thriller For Clues in Argentina Hack Case (msn.com) 6
Jay Newman, who made billions for Elliott Management pursuing Argentina's defaulted debt, wrote a 2022 thriller about corrupt spies and hedge funds. Now federal prosecutors are examining parallels between his novel "Undermoney" and real-world events.
The investigation centers on Amit Forlit, an Israeli private investigator facing U.S. extradition charges for alleged email theft from Argentine officials during Elliott's sovereign debt battle. Prosecutors are probing whether Forlit's alleged $20 million hacking operation aided Elliott's eventual $2.2 billion settlement with Argentina. "There's not that much fiction in 'Undermoney,'" Newman told interviewers while promoting the book, which features Israeli operatives and hedge fund intrigue. Newman and Elliott deny any wrongdoing, with Newman calling suggestions of illegal activity "categorically false."
The probe is examining $20 million paid to a Forlit-controlled company via a consulting firm that worked for Elliott, according to court statements and people familiar with the matter. Forlit denied involvement in hacking during a 2022 deposition. Prosecutors are also investigating Forlit's work for ExxonMobil regarding climate change critics. Neither Elliott nor ExxonMobil has been accused of wrongdoing. Newman, who left Elliott in 2016 with a $70 million bonus after the Argentina settlement, met regularly with Forlit to discuss the Argentine case, WSJ has reported. His novel follows dark money trails through Washington power corridors and Wall Street trading floors, featuring Israeli operatives described as "expensive, but consistent."
The investigation centers on Amit Forlit, an Israeli private investigator facing U.S. extradition charges for alleged email theft from Argentine officials during Elliott's sovereign debt battle. Prosecutors are probing whether Forlit's alleged $20 million hacking operation aided Elliott's eventual $2.2 billion settlement with Argentina. "There's not that much fiction in 'Undermoney,'" Newman told interviewers while promoting the book, which features Israeli operatives and hedge fund intrigue. Newman and Elliott deny any wrongdoing, with Newman calling suggestions of illegal activity "categorically false."
The probe is examining $20 million paid to a Forlit-controlled company via a consulting firm that worked for Elliott, according to court statements and people familiar with the matter. Forlit denied involvement in hacking during a 2022 deposition. Prosecutors are also investigating Forlit's work for ExxonMobil regarding climate change critics. Neither Elliott nor ExxonMobil has been accused of wrongdoing. Newman, who left Elliott in 2016 with a $70 million bonus after the Argentina settlement, met regularly with Forlit to discuss the Argentine case, WSJ has reported. His novel follows dark money trails through Washington power corridors and Wall Street trading floors, featuring Israeli operatives described as "expensive, but consistent."
This latest Aaron Sorkin script (Score:2)
Trying to find a way in... (Score:2)
...to that headline that makes a lick of sense.
Re: (Score:2)
"Forlit was known among his peers for being especially successful, leveraging a special skill to pull in multimillion-dollar contracts. The skill: Obtaining private emails and documents that could be useful in pressuring adversaries and settling disputes. He told close friends and allies that he hired computer hackers in India and elsewhere to break into accounts of targets, stealing their emails and providing them to clients in a variety of ways."
He told clients he got the documents on the "dark web". If he had said "dark internet" instead of "dark web" it would have been true.
"Forlit told associates that he set up a team of hackers in South America, primarily Uruguay, who together with subcontractors in India launched an ambitious series of spear phishing attacks on Argentine politicians and those close to them."
He pressured the Argentinian government to pay their debt. Then he wrote a book about it, with some fantasy involved.
Re: (Score:2)
It also has some fantasy mixed in.
The trick is figuring out what is real.
Isn't it for us all?
Re: Trying to find a way in... (Score:2)
I dunno. "Probe Hedge Fund", ok. "Hedge Fund Titan": is there a hedge find called Titan? "Titan's Thriller": maybe fund management company "Titan" has a fund called "Thriller". But that sounds weird. Maybe the fund is called "Titan's Thriller". Beats half the brands on Amazon called stuff like "Ajozubyk"...