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'; s.src = p + "://api.content-ad.net/Scripts/widget2.aspx?" Nearly two months after the $25 million hit the granola company's accounts, the bank wrote in a SAR, Sater's wife went to a branch on Long Island and tried to deposit a $20 million check into an account belonging to Moses & Singer, a Manhattan law firm. In 2015 emails Sater boasted to Cohen about his ties to Vladimir Putin and how Trump would win. He stands at a good height. We've received your submission. Rays alleged victim Rosario remembered the accused Sarah Lawrence cult leader and his father Poppy boasting about similar barroom brawls. ", "Trump picked stock fraud felon as senior adviser", "How a Lawyer, a Felon and a Russian General Chased a Moscow Trump Tower Deal", "Felix Sater, the spy, criminal, and mafia-linked executive tied to Trump Tower Moscow, explained", "Felix Sater: the business partner Donald Trump wants nothing to do with", "A Trump associate bragged that a business deal with Putin could "get Donald elected", "Trump associate Felix Sater's testimony postponed to March 27", "House Intel panel postpones interview with Felix Sater to focus on Mueller findings", "Russia-Born Executive to Testify About Trump Moscow Project", "5 Questions with Woman of Influence, Viki's Granola's Viki Sater", "Felix Sater Man Of The Year: Chabad of Port Washington", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Sater&oldid=1117840214, American people of Russian-Jewish descent, Russian businesspeople in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles with disputed statements from November 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 October 2022, at 21:26. + qs; 24,229, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved The lawyer wrote that he believed Ray was a registered and documented informant for the FBI., Felix Sater, former business associate of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives for testimony before the House Select Intelligence Committee July 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. Felix Henry Sater (born Felix Mikhailovich Sheferovsky; 1 2 ru: ; He allegedly washed enormous sums of that money through GoDaddy.com, where he reportedly bought thousands of domain names. tn_articleid: [258356], Sater, a longtime former business associate of Trump's linked to the mob, is accused of laundering millions of dollars stolen by Khazakh . Cohen and Felix Sater have known each other for nearly 30 years. Terms of Use He attended Pace University and later dropped out to work on Wall Street. Both Firtash and Sater were both former Russian Intelligence officials with ties to U.S. CIA and FBI and were bribed by Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and former CIA Director John Brennan to keep their mouth shut. His past record includes a conviction for lacerating a mans face with a broken margarita glass in a bar brawl and his involvement in a multimillion-dollar stock fraud and money-laundering scheme. The scheme operated through a Gambino soldier Edward Garafola, but the indictment lists an assortment of other alleged wiseguys, including Frank Coppa, Sr., a Bonanno family captain; Ernest Montevecchi, a Genovese soldier; Daniel Persico, a Colombo family associate; and Eugene Lombardo, a Bonanno family associate, according to the indictment. Bob Dreyfuss jQuery("#inline_cta_btn_258356 a").attr("href",inline_cta_url_258356); [60] He was then rescheduled to give closed-door testimony on June 21, 2019. VIDEO: People in Denmark Are a Lot Happier Than People in the United States. Have Voters Noticed? jQuery("#inline_cta_2_btn_258356").html(inline_cta_2_button_text_258356); It all came crashing down in 1998, when New York City police uncovered a stash of guns and documents in a mini-storage locker in SoHo implicating Sater and his partners in the fraud and money-laundering schemes. exitPopMobile: true, You can read our Privacy Policy here. Though his supposed relation to Capone is unverified at best, Ray has documented ties to organized crime. In July, Mueller ordered a pre-dawn raid at Manaforts Virginia home seeking evidence in the case, amid speculation that Manafort might flip and turn against Trump.). var inline_cta_bg_color_258356 = ''; I met him like 4 times in my life and the relationship went to shit pretty quickly.. Sater, who served a year in jail in the 1990s for stabbing a man in the face, later served as an FBI informant after pleading guilty to being involved in a $40-million stock-fraud scheme orchestrated by the Russian Mafia; this conviction was sealed. var qs = Object.keys(params).reduce(function(a, k){ a.push(k + '=' + encodeURIComponent(params[k])); return a},[]).join(String.fromCharCode(38)); top of page. By signing up to receive emails, you agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. [27] In a 2013 sworn affidavit, Trump said "If [Sater] were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn't know what he looked like,"[53] and in 2015 he stated "Felix Sater, boy, I have to even think about it. inline_cta_2_bg_color_258356 = '#cc0e0e'; } In it, Sater and Cohen worked with Andrii Artemenko, a Ukrainian opposition politician who himself had a questionable past, having spent time in prison in Ukraine for an embezzlement scheme, according to the New York Times story last February that first broke the news of his collaboration with Sater and Cohen (the charges against Artemenko were eventually dropped). Compiled research and history of Felix Sater's life before and during his work as an intelligence asset for the U.S. government . "[54] Trump has been photographed several times with Sater, including while speaking privately with him. Victoria Bechkam pic.twitter.com/UVWkyrHvhA, Felix Sater (@felixsater) July 24, 2018. Meet the shady Russian investor who may be a centerpiece of the investigation", "Trumps Can Never Really Check Out of SoHo Hotel", "On MSNBC Steven Harper Talks About the Moscow Tower Deal That 'Will Get Donald Elected', "Trump business associate led double life as FBI informant and more, he says", "How A Player In The TrumpRussia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy", "Loretta Lynch Responds to Reporting on Allegations She Slighted Victims' Rights", "Judge asks US to defend secrecy of Trump associate's history", "Trump Crony Felix Sater Now Cooperating in New York in Kazakh/BTA Bank Trial", "Arrest warrant for Kazakh billionaire accused of one of world's biggest frauds", "Former Trump Associate Felix Sater Must Face Money Laundering Suit", "FinCEN Files: Trump Associate Felix Sater's $100 Million In "Suspicious" Transactions", "Former Russian Spy Worked On Trump Moscow Deal While Trump Was Running For President", "Who Is Felix Sater, and Why Is Donald Trump So Afraid of Him? Felix Sater is a Russian-born dealmaker with organised-crime connections who worked on US property ventures that licensed Donald Trump's name, including Trump Soho in Manhattan. At a hearing last month, Drager scolded Felix for not yet having filed his 2018 taxes. } In her confirmation hearing to serve as US Attorney General under President Obama, Lynch confirmed that Sater did in fact work with the FBI and other agenciespresumably the CIAin providing information crucial to national security. Where and how Sater gathered the information that he provided, whether or not it involved contacts with the Russian FSB (the successor to the KGB) and GRU, and whether those agencies themselves established a covert connection with Sater is something that both Mueller and the US intelligence community ought to be looking at today, of course. tn_author: ['bob-d'], [8] The letter, also signed by Russian investor Andrei Rozov, was forwarded to Cohen by Sater. [2][26] In January 2022, Sater claimed that the barfight victim had tried to decline pressing charges, but that the U.S. government kept pressing because they wanted cooperation from Sater's father. The former director of the famous international real estate development and investment company Bayrock Group LLC in New York,Felix Sater is widely recognized as an American former mobster and real estate developer. Felix Sater provided information crucial to National Security and the conviction of over 20 individuals - including those responsible for committing massive financial fraud and members of La Cosa . var cta_2_check_258356 = false; if( magazine_button_url_258356 !='' ){ if( inline_cta_2_text_258356 !='' ){ WATCH LIVE: Ex-boyfriend on trial for allegedly killing womans new beau, WATCH LIVE: Psychic on Trial in Spousal Swindling Case, WATCH LIVE: XXXTentacion murder trial 3 men charged in 2018 shooting death of rapper, Law&Crime Looks Ahead to 10 Remarkable Criminal Trials Scheduled for the First Half of 2023, 9 Shocking Times Defendants Testified at Trial, A bald Alex Murdaugh appears in booking mugshot after hes sentenced to two life terms for killing wife and son, Im a father and I couldnt do this: Florida man convicted of murdering almost 3-month-old baby boy, Jan. 6th rioter who stole Officer Michael Fanones badge following Capitol assault pleads guilty, Former reality TV star gets life sentence for murder-for-hire plot targeting nephew, We really thought she was dead: Long-missing Pennsylvania woman discovered alive in Puerto Rico after 30 years, Larry Ray and the Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence, human trafficking and money laundering crimes, 'I'm a father and I couldn't do this': Florida man convicted of murdering almost 3-month-old baby boy, Jan. 6th rioter who stole Officer Michael Fanone's badge following Capitol assault pleads guilty, 'We really thought she was dead': Long-missing Pennsylvania woman discovered alive in Puerto Rico after 30 years, 'Things went horribly wrong': Devastated family sues mortuary over wrongful cremation, Sarah Lawrence cult member sentenced to 4.5 years in prison after tearfully telling court Larry Ray controlled her beyond comprehension, Judge scolds potential juror in Young Thug RICO trial, threatens to send him to jail for calling reporter covering trial, Devil in the Dorm: Episode 4, Confessions, is released on Wondery+, First survivor to go public against cult leader Larry Ray explains how horrific videos of his abuse became tool of empowerment, Devil in the Dorm: Episode 3, Forced Labor, is released on Wondery+, Sarah Lawrence Sex Trafficker Larry Rays Lieutenant Isabella Pollok Tells Judge Shes Also His Victim. if( inline_cta_2_bg_color_258356 !='' ){ inline_cta_bg_color_258356 = '#ffcf0d'; The judge said the docs showed that although he reported a substantial operating loss, he still made nearly $1 million in profits at two of his companies. [13][14] He later appeared before the House Intelligence Committee on July 9, 2019 during a closed door meeting which lasted for eight hours. var is_user_logged_in = getCookie('SESSname'); if( is_user_logged_in != null ){ (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images). Cohen, whos married to a Ukrainian woman, has business ties there himself, having once tried to get a Ukrainian ethanol business off the ground. jQuery("#magazine_button_258356").html(magazine_button_text_258356); [61] On June 21, 2019, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Sater after he skipped a testimony which he agreed to voluntarily. cta_2_check_258356 = true; Despite that record, which came before he worked with Trump, Sater spent nearly a decade working with the Trump Organization in search of deals in Russia and other former Soviet republics. During his time in Moscow eastern Europe, Sater cultivated ties to arms dealers, officials in US law enforcement and national security agencies, and even meeting with the Russian military intelligence agency. The man suffered nerve damage and required 110 stitches to close the laceration on his face. var params = Russiagate Well, Felix also finished a project for The Trump Organization of a building construction with a full cost of around $450 Million in a 46-story and 391-unit hotel condominium located at the Spring Street in SoHo. Drager said this substantiates to the court that the defendant [Felix] does have financial resources contrary to his claims.. Though Sater claimed that he cooperated and provided information about the Trump Tower project, Patrick Boland, spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, denied this and stated that Sater only partially cooperated and showed defiance by withholding requested testimony and documents concerning a real estate project which Sater acknowledged was falsely presented as a joint defense agreement between Trump and Russia and the telephone conversations pertaining to this agreement. Felix and Viktoria, 51, were married for more than 25 years and have three daughters together. And The New York Times reported him as saying, If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldnt know what he looked like. As late as 2015, when asked about Sater, Trump hemmed and hawed. Were Donald Trump & Felix Sater Linked to the Mob? Furthermore, in 2008 and 2009, he first joined the Russian real estate company Mirac Group and later became a managing director at Global Habitat Solution. } His father, Mikhail Sheferovsky (who changed the family name after arriving in New York) became a local crime boss in Brighton Beach and Sater grew up on that side of Brooklyn, where he got to know another teenager in the neighbourhood, Michael Cohen, a Long Island boy who would go on to become Trumps personal lawyer and vice-president of the Trump Organization. cta_1_check_258356 = true; (Photo of Ray via DOJ; image of Capone credited to FBI), Have a tip we should know? 3. Sater Went to Prison for Stabbing a Broker With a Martini Glass Stem in the Face in 1991. Sater developed real estate deals with Trump in New York most notably the former Trump Soho Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and planned deals in Europe. Felix Henry Sater / setr / (born Felix Mikhailovich Sheferovsky; [4] [5] Russian: ; March 2, 1966) is a Russian-American mobster, convicted felon, [6] real estate developer and former managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, [7] a real estate conglomerate based out of New York City. (Manafort, of course, is under intense scrutiny in the Russiagate investigation from Mueller and two committees of Congress over his possible role as a go-between in collusion between Russias spy network and the Trump campaign. Boy, I have to even think about it.. Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. In about the next 30 to 35 days, he told reporter Rice, I will be the most colorful character you have ever talked about. Felix Sater, a Russian-born real estate developer who allegedly helped President Donald Trump pursue a Trump Tower project in Moscow, is no stranger to legal battles. pic.twitter.com/rzpbjY7LVx. Even allowing for Saters long-established record as a liar and self-promoter, theres plenty here for Mueller and other investigators to dig into. In 1991, Sater reportedly smashed a margarita glass in a bar and stabbed a commodities broker in the face with it, requiring the man to get 110 stitches, according to the New York Times. Notice this is Maxim Temnikov, as well as his name backwards, and his wife (a guess) Elena Temnikov, as well as Felix Sater listed as the key people. Because he saw how many I put on the table at Bayrock., Sater and Bayrock sought to extend the Trump brand to Ukraine, Poland, and elsewhereincluding Moscow. wid: "428986", var is_user_logged_in = getCookie('SESSname'); The company denied that allegation, but Kerik was charged with steering contracts to it. The proposed plan would require that Russian forces withdraw from eastern Ukraine and that Ukraine hold a referendum on whether Crimea should be "leased" to Russia for 50 or 100 years. }); Enter the spies. In addition, various lawsuits, testimony, and depositions by the characters in Saters erratic orbit, including by Trump himself, provide valuable material in figuring out who Sater is and what role he plays in the Trump-Russia story. In order to get some bargaining power after he was indicted in 1998, according to Sater himself, he told the FBI that he had obtained valuable information about Osama bin Laden, a cache of Stinger missiles, and more. However, his net worth is still under review. Unfortunately, I cant talk about it now, before it happens. Fisher MB LLC purchased a condo in Miami, Florida for $4.8 million. } The most glaring omission concerns Felix Sater. Well, he tied the knot with his beautiful wife Viktoria Sater. Hes been a major government cooperator and was a witness in the Mueller investigation.