Real Estate Fraudster's Coke Problem Was Problematic

Maybe Adam Hochfelder should have taken a cue from his yearbook quote: "You could fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Earlier this month, the formerly high-flying real estate investor was indicted for duping friends into giving him $2.5 million for a development—only to allegedly spend it on debts, his children's private schooling, private jets, legal fees and expensive trips. Now, the NY Times looks at his rapid rise to the top and steep fall.

At one high point, Hochfelder managed or had "ownership interest in $2.7 billion in Manhattan skyscrapers." A low point: he had "an addiction to cocaine so serious that it 'impaired his ability to make the distinction between fantasy and reality,' one of his psychologists, Paul J. Rinaldi, said in court papers. Damage to Mr. Hochfelder’s nose required at least two operations to repair." Another low point: His 2008 indictment for allegedly stealing "$17 million from banks, business associates, friends and relatives."

Once profiled in the Observer, who anointed him a "young real estate baron" (he calls Donald Trump to get his sons prime Thanksgiving Parade viewing spots), Hochfelder's lawyer says his client is supported by his father and the Times notes, his "home is no longer on Park Avenue, but in a co-op on 86th Street between First and York Avenues — a building in which in recent years no apartment has sold for more than $600,000." Boo-hoo!