Scam suspect sued by insurance company
By THE JOURNAL NEWS
STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
(Original publication: July 13, 2005)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A New York University student charged with stealing millions in an investment scam is being sued by a Massachusetts insurance company that says he lied his way into three life insurance policies.
In a federal lawsuit filed June 28, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance claims that Hakan Yalincak, 21, misled the company about his net worth and employment to purchase an unidentified amount of life insurance.
The lawsuit does not say what Yalincak told the company, but federal prosecutors say he told Greenwich, Conn., investors that he ran a hedge fund. A former landlord said Yalincak claimed to be Turkish royalty.
State court records show Yalincak and his family are heavily in debt. The insurance company asked a judge to void the policies.
Yalincak and his mother, Ayferafet Yalincak of Pound Ridge, are charged with running a $7.4 million investment scam. Investigators believe they donated $1.25 million to NYU to make them appear wealthy and lure more investors.
NYU has spent the $1.25 million it received from the Yalincaks, intended as the initial payment on a $21 million pledge, on a lecture hall.
"A lawsuit about an insurance policy is really a bump in the road compared to the other issues we're dealing with," defense attorney Michael Sherman said.
The two have been indicted on four felony counts of wire fraud and conspiracy.
One false bank statement they showed to investors purported to show a $904,000 balance at Smith Barney Citigroup — when the account actually was $27 in arrears, according to the indictment.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000. Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
The Yalincaks also ran a mortgage company in Greenwich that banking records show drew complaints from homebuyers who said the family improperly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits, then forged documents to make the transactions look legitimate.
Banking officials referred the buyers to law-enforcement officials, records show. No charges have been filed in that matter.
Ayferafet Yalincak previously served a two-year jail sentence in Indiana for practicing medicine without a license. |
