Absent Hedge Fund Manager Must Pay $8.4M

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Author: HFN Daily Report

A court ruled that a hedge fund manager who fled the U.S. when the Securities and Exchange Commission started investigating must pay more than $8.4 million, that is, if anyone can find him.

The SEC charged that Spiro Germenis diverted money from his hedge fund firm Oracle Evolution for personal use. Germenis also created phony or altered account statements to hide his misuse of investor funds, according to the SEC.

When the SEC began investigating in November 2006, Germenis fled to Greece, where his family was said to own property.

The default judgment from a New York federal court included $7.7 million for undisgorged profits and interest, as well as civil penalties totaling $720,000.