A woman who worked for the guy briefly married to Nicky Hilton is insisting that she didn't steal $900,000—to fund lavish trips and jewelry— from her hedge fund boss. Instead, Renata Shamrakova insists that she and Todd Meister were lovers. But Meister tells the Daily News, "She didn't work out of my house, she worked out of my office. I've never even had a meal with her - not even a cup of coffee... When she found out she was about to get caught, she fabricated a relationship with me."
Shamrakova pleaded not guilty to charges including grand larceny (she apparently wired money from his person bank accounts to pay the American Express cards she used) yesterday. Her lawyer said, "We are investigating the possibility that there was a romantic relationship, and the purchases and the payments on the cards were with his consent... My view to this is that he was authorizing these payments every month... Meister's] saying she did these things without his consent. But that's all going to be a matter of proof. It's going to be a matter of establishing a he-said, she-said."
What makes this story even weirder is the fact that Shamrakova's boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend, depending on which tabloid you read) Michael Smaye was allegedly involved by way of getting rid of evidence. The Daily News reports, "As investigators were closing in on her, Shamrakova told Smaye to remove computers, cell phones and financial documents from the apartment that they shared... Smaye, who has not yet been arrested, will appear in court Tuesday on obstruction of justice charges."
Shamrakova and Smaye started a jewelry business, allegedly with the misbegotten funds, and when "cops executed search warrants on two adjacent apartments at 321 W. 21st St. and a Manhattan Mini Storage on W. 23rd St. [they] seized 1,164 necklaces, 658 bracelets, 359 rings, 2,393 pairs of earrings and assorted watches and pendants." Shamrakova's lawyer wants to see the computer and cellphone records, to establish a romantic relationship between his client and Meister.
Meister, besides running a hedge fund, is an heir to the Aon insurance fortune.
