Jury convicts lawyer accused of helping client impersonate wealthy dad to get funding for Maxim deal
A former BigLaw attorney has gone down, along with his ex-client, in a federal fraud case over a claimed scheme to trick lenders into providing millions to buy Maxim magazine.
Harvey Newkirk, 39, who was counsel to Bryan Cave at the time, was acquitted on two counts by a Manhattan jury Monday. But he was convicted of a wire fraud charge related to the failed deal to buy the men’s magazine for $31 million, Reuters reports.
Ex-client Calvin Darden Jr.—already a convicted felon over an unrelated financial scam prior to the planned magazine deal—pleaded guilty to multiple counts last year and was a government witness at Newkirk’s trial.
Federal prosecutors said the son impersonated his well-to-do dad, Calvin Darden Sr., as he and Newkirk falsely told lenders Darden Sr. would pledge assets to back the magazine deal. A former UPS Inc. executive, Calvin Darden Sr. serves on the boards of major corporations.
Darden Jr. testified that Newkirk helped him forge documents to support the false claim of financial backing from Darden Sr. Prosecutors said paperwork that helped the pair borrow $8 million included fake bank account statements and emails to lenders. The two were trying to borrow another $20 million, the government said, when their scheme fell apart.
Darden Sr. was involved in Maxim deal discussions but said he provided no financing and was not represented by Newkirk.
However, Vincent Alfieri, a former New York managing partner of Bryan Cave who now has a national role in the firm, testified that Newkirk was hired, in June 2013 at an annual salary of $300,000, after he said he had represented both Dardens in several deals, the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reported earlier this month.
When Newkirk testified on his own behalf, he sought to show that there was reason for him to believe Darden Sr. was involved in backing the deal. Plus, Newkirk insisted he never gave any information he knew was false to investors, according to another New York Law Journal (sub. req.) story and the New York Post.
Prosecutors argued that Newkirk, who had two mortgages, hoped to reduce his debt with a bonus for completing the Maxim purchase. Additionally, closing the deal would have helped his chances of partnership at Bryan Cave, another New York Post article reports.
However, defense counsel emphasized at the conclusion of the trial their argument that Newkirk had been duped by his client, a “relentless liar,” and suggested the senior Darden is now minimizing his role because he faces civil litigation concerning the failed Maxim deal.
“They are willing to sacrifice an innocent man for their own needs,” lead lawyer Priya Chaudhry told the jury.
Nonetheless, Newkirk was found guilty on one count. “I am very disappointed by the verdict,” he told the New York Post afterward, declining further comment. Chaudhry said an appeal is planned.
Sentencing is scheduled for April.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Did BigLaw lawyer lie to help client get millions to buy Maxim? Or was he a victim of his client?”
New York Post: “Troubled father-son relationship at heart of Maxim fraud trial”
