Convicted Alberto W. Vilar of all 12 counts in his securities fraud trial

Federal jury in New York convicted Alberto W. Vilar of all 12 counts in his securities fraud trial on Wednesday, a final fall from grace for a man who gave millions of dollars to musical and other causes but was ostracized for falling short on his pledges, The New York Times’s Daniel J. Wakin reports.Mr. Vilar, 67, blinked when the first guilty verdict was pronounced by the foreman in Federal District Court but remained stone-faced. His former partner and co-defendant, Gary A. Tanaka, 65, was convicted of three of the counts.The two men, former partners in Amerindo Investment Advisors, were charged in a 12-count indictment accusing them of conspiracy and securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Mr. Tanaka was found guilty of conspiracy, securities fraud and investment adviser fraud.The verdict came after three and a half days of often heated deliberations. Raised voices were heard inside the jury room, and at one point the panel asked for a half-hour cooling-off period. One woman on the jury was sniffling as she left the courtroom.Mr. Vilar’s lawyer, Herald Price Fahringer, said his client would appeal. “We’re deeply disappointed in the jury’s verdict,” he said. “We expect to be fully vindicated on appeal.” When Mr. Vilar was asked what had gone wrong, he said softly, “I don’t know.”Glenn Colton, Mr. Tanaka’s lawyer, said the nine not-guilty counts showed how troubled the jury was in what role his client had played. The verdict came after a two-month trial.Mr. Vilar faces the possibility of trading life in his opulent United Nations Plaza apartment for a lengthy prison sentence. The judge, Richard J. Sullivan, delayed setting a sentencing date until after post-trial motions were argued. Both defendants remain free on bail.Prosecutors charged that Amerindo gambled with clients’ money in volatile technology stocks instead of the safe investments they promised, and turned to fraud when the market plunged in 2000. Among the most lurid accusations: an Amerindo employee in London cut and pasted a client’s signature to loot her account of $250,000 so Mr. Vilar could pay his mortgage.The defense argued that the investors did not actually lose money until the authorities froze the business with their arrests in May 2005, and that clients like the Los Angeles and Chicago police department pension funds made big profits. They made much of the fact in arguments before the jury that Amerindo had received top ratings as investment advisers.
The verdict was the last movement in Mr. Vilar’s fall from grace, which began in 2002 when — amid a plunging stock market — he reneged on a series of promises to give millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Washington National Opera and others.On Nov. 19, 2008, Alberto W. Vilar was convicted by a federal jury on all 12 counts in his securities fraud trial, a final fall from grace for a man who gave millions of dollars to musical and other causes but was ostracized for falling short on his pledges.Mr. Vilar blinked when the first guilty verdict was pronounced by the foreman in a United States District courtroom but remained stone-faced.Mr. Vilar had been arrested on May 26, 2005, and indicted on charges of defrauding a client of more than $5 million and using some of the money to make donations. The client is Lily Cates, the mother of the actress Phoebe Cates.Mr. Vilar, who controlled the firm Amerindo Investment Advisors, is an opera lover who contributed more than $100 million to cultural and other causes.
A federal grand jury in Manhattan charged him with investment adviser fraud, securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. The government alleged that Mr. Vilar diverted the $5 million investment for his personal use and for business expenses, and transferred part of the money to a foreign account. Mr. Vilar denied the charges."I've declared my innocence and my complete intention to defend myself," Mr. Vilar said in a brief telephone interview with The Times after his arrest. He criticized the news coverage of his case, saying it made him seem guilty. "The press has come down hard on me," he said. "Here I was, taken off unexpectedly to jail, presumed innocent."Mr. Vilar’s lawyer, Herald Price Fahringer, said his client would appeal. “We’re deeply disappointed in the jury’s verdict,” he said. “We expect to be fully vindicated on appeal.” When Mr. Vilar was asked what went wrong, he said softly, “I don’t know.” Mr. Vilar was once ranked a near-billionaire by Fortune magazine. He faces the possibility of trading life in his opulent United Nations Plaza apartment for a lengthy prison term. The judge, Richard J. Sullivan, delayed setting a sentencing date until after post-trial motions were argued.
The verdict was the last movement in Mr. Vilar’s fall from grace, which began in 2002 when — amid a plunging stock market — he reneged on a series of promises to give millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Washington National Opera and others.