Nir Meir has not but accepted a plea deal, his lawyer mentioned at his final courtroom look earlier than his October trial.
The disgraced former HFZ Capital government has pleaded not responsible in an alleged $86 million fraud case involving the XI condominium challenge on the Excessive Line.
When Meir was in courtroom earlier this month, his lawyer, Stephen McCarthy, requested the decide 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 known as the assembly “productive” and mentioned the 2 are “nearer” to a decision, he advised the decide on Wednesday there’s nonetheless no deal.
The decide, 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 are going to attain an settlement, telling the decide, 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 lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} out of HFZ’s luxurious actual property tasks to cowl shortfalls on different HFZ tasks and to counterpoint 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 courtroom on Wednesday showing upbeat, sporting a brand new haircut and a black polo shirt.
McCarthy mentioned in courtroom that he had a “productive assembly” with Chris Conway, the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace bureau chief, after Meir’s final courtroom look earlier this month.
“We’re nearer to a decision,” he added.
McCarthy mentioned 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 decide 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 report 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 few 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 mentioned at a courtroom look in June 2025. In April, McCarthy advised TRD that Meir is “working towards a profitable decision” regardless of Beard stating in courtroom that he does see a option to resolve the case exterior of a trial.
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