Nir Meir has not but accepted a plea deal, his lawyer stated at his final court docket look earlier than his October trial.
The disgraced former HFZ Capital govt has pleaded not responsible in an alleged $86 million fraud case involving the XI apartment challenge on the Excessive Line.
When Meir was in court docket earlier this month, his lawyer, Stephen McCarthy, requested the choose for one final likelihood to make a plea deal earlier than trial, saying he had a gathering deliberate with the bureau chief on the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace. Although he referred to as the assembly “productive” and stated the 2 are “nearer” to a decision, he instructed the choose on Wednesday there may be nonetheless no deal.
The choose, Meir’s lawyer and prosecutors agreed to maintain the October 14 trial date and scheduled no new appearances earlier than then. Nonetheless, McCarthy indicated he stays hopeful they’ll attain an settlement, telling the choose, Ann Thompson, he may come to her with a plea deal quickly.
Meir and McCarthy declined to touch upon the case to TRD.
Prosecutors charged Meir with masterminding a sprawling $86 million fraud scheme wherein he allegedly diverted a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} out of HFZ’s luxurious actual property initiatives to cowl shortfalls on different HFZ initiatives and to complement himself and different HFZ executives. He confronted 4 separate indictments together with grand larceny, conspiracy and tax fraud, although Thompson consolidated them into one at his final look earlier this month.
Meir, who’s on home arrest with digital monitoring, arrived in court docket on Wednesday showing upbeat, sporting a brand new haircut and a black polo shirt.
McCarthy stated in court docket that he had a “productive assembly” with Chris Conway, the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace bureau chief, after Meir’s final court docket look earlier this month.
“We’re nearer to a decision,” he added.
McCarthy stated that he and the prosecutor, Chris Beard, agreed to maintain the October 14 trial date, however he saved open the likelihood that they may return to the choose with a plea deal.
“Ought to we be able to return again earlier than Your Honor and point out a specific request of a plea to the indictment, could we advance the case?” he requested.
“You made the precise document that I used to be nearly to make, so we’re all in settlement,” she responded.
Meir is the one defendant of his 9 authentic co-defendants to not attain a plea deal. All of his co-defendants entered responsible pleas with no jail time and minimal fines.
McCarthy, Meir’s third lawyer, has maintained his optimism a couple of plea deal for months. If discovered responsible at trial, Meir may face a prolonged jail sentence. Previous to their consolidation, Meir confronted seven to 21 years per indictment, Thompson stated at a court docket look in June 2025. In April, McCarthy instructed TRD that Meir is “working towards a profitable decision” regardless of Beard stating in court docket that he does see a technique to resolve the case outdoors of a trial.
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