Nearly nine years ago, a NYU senior named Hakan Yalincak was about to graduate—except he got arrested for running a fake hedge fund and collecting $7 million from investors. Now, after serving three years in prison and being deported from the United States, he's in Turkey, with a degree from Durham University's undergraduate law program and a Master's in Science from Oxford.
The NY Times has a great feature about Yalincak:
How the ever-enterprising Mr. Yalincak achieved this turnaround, wrapping himself in the colors of two of the world’s most prestigious universities and inching closer to his dream of becoming a lawyer, is a remarkable tale — but one that he is not eager to talk about. Nor did the British universities, his lawyers or even the State University of New York, which had a mere supporting role, want to comment when contacted.
“Nothing would surprise me,” said Paul D. Hinman, a now-retired postal inspector who was at the fore of the criminal investigation. “All I can say is he was brilliant and probably capable of doing anything.”
Ayferafat Yalincak's mother, who had been previously convicted of practicing medicine without a license (which was later vacated and expunged from her record), would allegedly give him rides to meetings with marks. His family eventually promised NYU a $21 million donation, giving the school a first portion of $1.25 million which was actually investors' money (NYU was going to name the building that formerly housed The Bottom Line after the Yalincaks). (Update as of August 21, 2014: Mrs. Yalincak no longer has any criminal conviction for practicing medicine without a license in light of the expungement of the conviction.)
According to the Times, "Mr. Yalincak said through his lawyers that he did not check the box to disclose convictions on the systemwide application that British universities use. He said he was under no obligation to do so, given the instructions that applicants receive from colleges about what is required under British law. 'The U.S. criminal conviction is not considered a ‘relevant conviction’ for educational purposes,' according to the statements from Mr. Yalincak released through one of his criminal defense lawyers, Jeffrey C. Kestenband. 'However, it was disclosed in letters of recommendation from his attorneys as well as Mr. Yalincak’s personal statement.'"
And he transferred 96 of his 120 NYU credits to a SUNY offshoot, Empire State College: "Despite some conflicting posts on whether he completed his degree, Mr. Yalincak has claimed that SUNY awarded him a bachelor’s in history in 2012. Empire State’s spokesman, David Henahan, declined to release any information or confirm the degree, citing its privacy policy."
His Epernicus page notes, "M.Sci., Criminology & Criminal Justice, OXON; B.A., LL.B. Law (Honours), DUNELM B.A.; Historical Studies, SUNY, ESC, NYU Transfer Credits Transferred in 2009" He did try to sue NYU into giving him his diploma.
Yalincak, who now lives in Istanbul, Turkey, seems to be interested in pursuing a career in the law. Here's his bio from his About.me page reads, "He was a Bachelor of Arts (BA) candidate in History with a focus on Ottoman and Turkish History. He has also worked in finance, a period in his life he still willingly describes as 'the biggest learning experience of his life.' He has also earned his LL.B. Law (Hons) (2012) and MSc (Merit, 2013) and worked in academia, legal writing and research, consulting, fraud examiner, project management, due diligence as well as pro bono immigration, civil litigation roles and volunteered for various legal aid services both inside and outside of Turkey."
In 2007, Yalincak was ordered to pay $4,182,000 in restitution to victims yalincak-million-investment-scam. He told the Hartford Courant at the time of his sentencing, "It's fair. I did what I did." He added, "I think it is a time to reflect and get away from my family,. It's not an ideal environment, but I don't have to work. It's rest. It's over now... I am young. Giving this person time to think isn't the worst thing in the world."
Update: Mr. Yalincak and the Yalincak family, through their attorneys, challenged the allegations contained in the New York Magazine piece in Court and reached a confidential settlement in March 2008 with New York Magazine Holdings, LLC ("NY Magazine"). They deny the allegations in the NY Magazine Article and have no further comment per the terms of the settlement agreement with NY Magazine.
