Friends and clients of real estate investor Adam Hochfelder thought they were buying shares in Lake George's Sagamore Resort and another property in Telluride, Colorado, but instead the money was going up Hochfelder's nose, among other places. The onetime-mogul—who underwent nasal reconstructive surgery because of his coke problem—says substance abuse led him to take over $2.5 million from investors and spend it on debts, private school for his kids, private jets, lawyer fees and expensive trips. He was arrested yesterday, and previously, in 2008, Hochfelder was charged with taking banks, family and friends for $17 million. “The facts of this case speak volumes about the defendant’s character,” the prosecutor said. “He did it with an outstanding level of arrogance and entitlement.”
"The defendant systematically defrauded his friends, family and business associates out of millions of dollars through phony real estate deals, repeatedly abusing the trust of those who believed he was an upstanding businessman," asserted Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. Among Hochfelder's victims was a close friend who'd been the best man at his wedding, reports the Daily News.
Still, the defense says Hochfelder "intended to pay them back, and he's paid back a total of $15 million." (The restitution he's made has served to keep him out of jail, reports the NY Post.) Called a wunderkind, Hochfelder controlled millions of square feet of office space, once valued at $2.7 billion, before the age of 35. Now penniless, he's out on $1 million bail. "The Adam Hochfelder of today is a broke Adam Hochfelder," said his lawyer.
