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Reformat 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:USURPURL and JUDI batch #27an

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{{Short description|American businessman and fraudster (1945–2022)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Steven Hoffenberg
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Steven Hoffenberg 1962.jpg
| caption = Steven Hoffenberg in 1962
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1945|01|12}}
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn]], New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2022|8||1945|1|12}}
| death_place = [[Derby, Connecticut]], U.S.
| body_discovered = August 23, 2022
| employer = [[Towers Financial Corporation]]
| known_for = Owner of the ''[[New York Post]]'' (1993), [[Ponzi scheme]] at [[Towers Financial Corporation]], [[Jeffrey Epstein]] associate
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* Bailey Edgren (m. 1963) <br>Second wife
* {{marriage|Maria Santiago|2014}}
}}
| children = 1
| criminal_charges = Five counts of securities fraud, tax evasion, and obstruction of a [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] inquiry<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-21-fi-64536-story.html "Hoffenberg Pleads Guilty in Massive Securities Fraud: Crime: Financier could face a 25-year sentence. Investors were bilked of $500 million."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111214846/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-21-fi-64536-story.html |date=November 11, 2020 }} ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>
| criminal_penalty = 20 years imprisonment and fine; served 18 years
| criminal_status =
}}

'''Steven Jude Hoffenberg''' (January 12, 1945 – August 2022)<ref name="BNO"/> was an American businessman and fraudster. He was the founder, CEO, president, and chairman of [[Towers Financial Corporation]], a [[debt collection]] agency, which was later discovered to be a [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref name="Vanity Fair" /> In 1993, he rescued the ''[[New York Post]]'' from bankruptcy, and briefly owned the paper. Towers Financial collapsed in 1993, and in 1995 Hoffenberg pleaded guilty to bilking investors out of $475 million. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison (serving 18 years), plus a $1 million fine and $463 million in restitution. The [[U.S. SEC]] considered his financial crimes to be "one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history".<ref name="SEC1">{{cite news |title=Arrest of Steven Hoffenberg Announced in New York |work=SEC News Digest |page=2 |date=February 18, 1994 |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1994/dig021894.pdf |access-date=March 13, 2009 |archive-date=March 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320110643/http://sec.gov/news/digest/1994/dig021894.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Hoffenberg was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]] to a Jewish family on January 12, 1945, along with a twin brother, Martin.<ref name="BNO"/><ref name = Shanahan>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/business/steven-hoffenberg-dead.html|title = Steven Hoffenberg, Debt Baron Who Ran a Vast Fraud, Dies at 77|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = August 26, 2022|accessdate = August 26, 2022|last = Shanahan|first = Ed|url-access = limited|archive-date = August 26, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220826153005/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/business/steven-hoffenberg-dead.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

In 1971 Hoffensberg pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree larceny for trying a steal a diamond in New York. Despite initially denying reports he had indicating his involvement but at his trial, he admitted he was once "involved in a theft".<ref name="wapo2022">{{Cite news |title=Steven Hoffenberg, brash swindler behind massive Ponzi scheme, dies at 77 |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/26/hoffenberg-ponzi-epstein-dies/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

Hoffenberg owned the ''[[New York Post]]'' from January to March 1993. The Towers Ponzi scheme quickly imploded, ending his tenure, which had seen mass layoffs, a mass walkout on the part of the paper's staff, and missed publications.

=== Towers financial corporation ===
In the early 1970s, Hoffenberg founded Towers Financial Corporation, a New York City [[debt collection]] agency that was supposed to buy debts that people owed to hospitals, banks, and phone companies.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 4, 2011 |title=Averting a Crisis p. – Newspaper & News Publishing Industry News |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/averting-a-crisis-p/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609200628/https://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/averting-a-crisis-p/ |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |work=Editor & Publisher Magazine}}</ref> He was its chief executive officer, president, and chairman.<ref name="towersinvestors1">{{cite web |title=Re: Guaranteed Collection Corporation's Joint Venture With Some Three Hundred (300) Small Collection Agencies |url=http://www.towersinvestors.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/towers-collection.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609195220/http://www.towersinvestors.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/towers-collection.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2020}}</ref><ref name="justia1">{{Cite web |title=Hoffenberg v. Hoffman & Pollok, 248 F. Supp. 2d 303 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/248/303/2422199/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609195219/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/248/303/2422199/ |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=June 9, 2020 |website=Justia Law}}</ref><ref name="Vanity Fair" /><ref name="govinfocv">{{Cite court|litigants=Steven Jude Hoffenberg v. United States Of America|court=D.N.J.|date=February 6, 2012|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-njd-1_10-cv-02788/pdf/USCOURTS-njd-1_10-cv-02788-0.pdf|access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref> It was later discovered to be a [[Ponzi scheme]].<ref name="towersinvestors1" /><ref name="justia1" /><ref name="Vanity Fair" /><ref name="govinfocv" /> In February the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] began a civil action against him and others, and in March 1993 Towers Financial filed for bankruptcy.<ref name="justia1" /> In April 1995 Hoffenberg pleaded guilty to bilking investors out of $475 million.<ref name="justia1" /> The SEC considered his financial crimes as "one of the largest [[Ponzi scheme]]s in history" at the time.<ref name="SEC1" />

=== Prison sentence ===
In 1997, Judge [[Robert W. Sweet]] sentenced Hoffenberg to 20 years in prison. He spent 18 years at several prisons, including [[FCI Fort Dix]] ([[Fort Dix, New Jersey]]) and the [[Federal Medical Center, Devens]] (in [[Devens, Massachusetts]]). He was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine and $463 million in restitution. Per the [[U.S. Bureau of Prisons]], he was released in October 2013.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=United States v. Hoffenberg, 1:94-cr-00213 – |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15901046/united-states-v-hoffenberg/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609195219/https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15901046/united-states-v-hoffenberg/ |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |publisher=Courtlistener.com}}</ref><ref name="govinfocv" /><ref name=":1">{{cite court|litigants=Steven Jude Hoffenberg v. United States of America|court=3d Cir.|date=November 15, 2012|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca3-12-03283/pdf/USCOURTS-ca3-12-03283-0.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Vanity Fair" /> He settled a civil suit with the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] for $60 million.<ref name="WSJ1">{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Robert |date=March 13, 2009 |title=From Ponzi to Madoff |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123685693449906551 |url-status=live |access-date=March 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109051811/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123685693449906551 |archive-date=January 9, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news |last=Eaton |first=Leslie |date=March 8, 1997 |title=Hoffenberg Gets 20-Year Sentence in Fraud Case |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/08/business/hoffenberg-gets-20-year-sentence-in-fraud-case.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213041551/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/08/business/hoffenberg-gets-20-year-sentence-in-fraud-case.html |archive-date=February 13, 2010}}</ref>

===Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein===
In 1987, he met [[Jeffrey Epstein]] through a British defense contractor named Douglas Leese (died 2011), who Hoffenberg claimed was an [[arms industry|arms dealer]].<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/jeffrey-epstein-steven-hoffenberg-intelligence-agencies-spy-1197708/amp/ Was Jeffrey Epstein a spy?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812141719/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/jeffrey-epstein-steven-hoffenberg-intelligence-agencies-spy-1197708/amp/ |date=August 12, 2022 }}, Rollingstone.com. Accessed August 27, 2022.</ref> Leese was, with Saudi [[Adnan Khashoggi]] and Prince [[Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud]], architect in the billion dollar [[Al-Yamamah arms deal]], Britain's biggest arms deal ever concluded – earning the prime contractor, [[BAE Systems]], at least £43 billion in revenue between 1985 and 2007.<ref>[https://sites.tufts.edu/corruptarmsdeals/the-al-yamamah-arms-deals The Al Yamamah Arms Deals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301214628/https://sites.tufts.edu/corruptarmsdeals/the-al-yamamah-arms-deals/ |date=March 1, 2021 }}, Compendium of Arms Trade Corruption, [[Tufts University]] 2021</ref> Leese told Hoffenberg about Epstein: "The guy's a genius, he's great at selling securities. And he has no moral compass." Hoffenberg hired Epstein about 1987 and 1993 to help with the Towers Financial Corporation, paid him $25,000 a month and gave him a $2 million loan in 1988 that Epstein would never have to pay back.<ref name="WaPoAug19">Marc Fisher, Jonathan O'Connell: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/final-evasion-for-30-years-prosecutors-and-victims-tried-to-hold-jeffrey-epstein-to-account-at-every-turn-he-slipped-away/2019/08/10/30bc947a-bb8a-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html "Final evasion: For 30 years, prosecutors and victims tried to hold Jeffrey Epstein to account. At every turn, he slipped away"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006113845/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/final-evasion-for-30-years-prosecutors-and-victims-tried-to-hold-jeffrey-epstein-to-account-at-every-turn-he-slipped-away/2019/08/10/30bc947a-bb8a-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html |date=October 6, 2021 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'', August 10, 2019</ref><ref name="Vanity Fair" />

Hoffenberg set Epstein up in offices in the [[Villard Houses]].<ref name="Vanity Fair">{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/03/jeffrey-epstein-200303|title=The Talented Mr. Epstein|last=Ward|first=Vicky|date=June 27, 2011|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612144453/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/03/jeffrey-epstein-200303|archive-date=June 12, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=June 11, 2015}}</ref> They unsuccessfully tried to take over [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]] in a [[corporate raid]] with Towers Financial as their raiding vessel. Their bid failed, in part because of the 1988 [[terrorist]] [[bombing]] of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] over [[Lockerbie]], which ultimately contributed to the airline's bankruptcy. A similar unsuccessful bid in 1988 was made to take over [[Emery Worldwide|Emery Air Freight Corp]].<ref name="Vanity Fair"/>

During this period, Hoffenberg and Epstein worked closely together and traveled everywhere on Hoffenberg's private jet.<ref name="Vanity Fair" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/epstein-clinton-hoffenberg-1448213|title=Jeffrey Epstein's mentor says his former protege was ruined by relationship with Bill Clinton: 'It inflated his ego'|last=Cole|first=Brendan|date=July 9, 2019|work=Newsweek|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712131048/https://www.newsweek.com/epstein-clinton-hoffenberg-1448213|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Illusion-NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/business/jeffrey-epstein-net-worth.html|title=Jeffrey Epstein's Fortune May Be More Illusion Than Fact|last1=Stewart|first1=James B.|date=July 10, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 11, 2019|last2=Goldstein|first2=Matthew|issn=0362-4331|last3=Kelly|first3=Kate|last4=Enrich|first4=David|archive-date=July 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711014027/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/business/jeffrey-epstein-net-worth.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Hoffenberg began using Towers Financial funds to pay off earlier investors and pay for a lavish lifestyle that included a [[Locust Valley, New York]], [[Long Island]] mansion, as well as homes on [[Sutton Place, Manhattan|Sutton Place]] (in [[Manhattan]]) and in Florida, and a number of cars and planes.<ref name="Vanity Fair" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/25/nyregion/post-rescuer-built-wealth-from-2000.html|title=Post Rescuer Built Wealth from $2,000|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 25, 1993|last1=Hevesi|first1=Dennis|access-date=June 11, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611071621/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/25/nyregion/post-rescuer-built-wealth-from-2000.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In court documents, Hoffenberg claimed that Epstein was intimately involved in the Ponzi scheme.<ref>{{cite web|title=Towers Ponzi Scheme Complaint| url=http://www.classactionsreporter.com/sites/default/files/towers_ponzi_scheme_complaint.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914230821/http://www.classactionsreporter.com/sites/default/files/towers_ponzi_scheme_complaint.pdf |archive-date=September 14, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-jeffrey-epstein-help-steven-hoffenberg-swindle-dollar460-million-in-ponzi-scheme|title=Ponzi Scheme Victims Say Epstein Swindled Them|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|first1=Kate|last1=Briquelet|first2=Tracy|last2=Connor|date=July 15, 2019|access-date=July 16, 2019|archive-date=July 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716064252/https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-jeffrey-epstein-help-steven-hoffenberg-swindle-dollar460-million-in-ponzi-scheme|url-status=live}}</ref> Epstein left Towers Financial before it collapsed and was never charged for being involved with the massive [[investor fraud]] committed.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/|title = Jeffrey Epstein worked at financial firm that engaged in massive Ponzi scheme in 1980s and 1990s|website = [[CBS News]]| date=August 13, 2019 |access-date = June 10, 2020|archive-date = January 15, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115054136/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-worked-at-towers-financial-with-stephen-hoffenberg-who-committed-ponzi-scheme-crimes/|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr15053.txt Litigation Release No. 15053 / September 17, 1996<br>Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 816] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910072543/https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr15053.txt |date=September 10, 2021 }}, sec. gov, September 17, 1996; accessed August 25, 2022.</ref>

In 2016, Hoffenberg and some of his victims sued Epstein, seeking restitution. He asserted in court that Epstein had been intimately involved in Tower's financial practices and called Epstein the "architect of the scam".<ref name="WaPoAug19" /> In July 2019, following Epstein's arrest on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, Hoffenberg again claimed that Epstein was his "uncharged co-conspirator" in the Ponzi scheme.<ref>{{cite news| first1=Kate| last1=Briquelet| first2=Tracy| last2=Conner| url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-jeffrey-epstein-help-steven-hoffenberg-swindle-dollar460-million-in-ponzi-scheme| title=Ponzi Scheme Victims Say Epstein Swindled Them| website=[[Daily Beast]]| date=July 14, 2019| access-date=July 15, 2019| archive-date=July 16, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716064252/https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-jeffrey-epstein-help-steven-hoffenberg-swindle-dollar460-million-in-ponzi-scheme| url-status=live}}</ref> Former Towers investors made similar allegations in a lawsuit filed in August 2018. The lawsuit also alleged that the millions in stolen investments were the seed capital for Epstein's hedge fund, which it valued at $50 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/1661999/jeffrey-epsteins-ex-mentor-accuses-him-of-fraud/ |title=Jeffrey Epstein's ex-mentor accuses him of fraud |publisher=Quartz |date=April 21, 1995 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830073242/https://qz.com/1661999/jeffrey-epsteins-ex-mentor-accuses-him-of-fraud/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Hoffenberg converted to Christianity during his time in prison.<ref name = "wapo2022" /><ref name="DailyBeast" /> Following his release, he claimed to be seeking to make amends to his victims, and also reached out to women who had made allegations of assault against his former mentee Jeffrey Epstein, with one of Epstein's accusers [[Maria Farmer]] reporting that she and Hoffenberg had become "friends."<ref name = Shanahan />
On July 10, 2014, he married ''Post All Star News'' president, Maria Santiago, after a one month romance. He held an informal wedding ceremony in front of [[Trump Tower]] in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://blacktiemagazine.com/society_july_2014/Steven_Jude_Hoffenberg_Weds_Maria_Santiago_In_Front_of_Trump_Tower_July10_2014.htm| title=Steven J. Hoffenberg Weds Maria Santiago In Front Of Trump Tower| publisher=Blacktiemagazine.com| date=July 10, 2014| access-date=June 10, 2020| archive-date=June 9, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609195216/http://blacktiemagazine.com/society_july_2014/Steven_Jude_Hoffenberg_Weds_Maria_Santiago_In_Front_of_Trump_Tower_July10_2014.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> He had been married at least twice before, and had a daughter from a relationship he had been having at the time of his federal prosecution; his daughter met him for the first time at the age of 19 after he was released from prison.<ref name = Shanahan/>

Hoffenberg was found dead at his apartment in [[Derby, Connecticut]], on August 23, 2022, at the age of 77.<ref name="BNO">{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2022 |title=Steven Hoffenberg, who worked with Jeffrey Epstein, found dead |url=https://bnonews.com/index.php/2022/08/steven-hoffenberg-worked-with-epstein-found-dead/ |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=[[BNO News]] |archive-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825190700/https://bnonews.com/index.php/2022/08/steven-hoffenberg-worked-with-epstein-found-dead/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Epstein accuser [[Maria Farmer]] said she called police to check in on Hoffenberg after she failed to reach him over the phone during the preceding week.<ref name="DailyBeast">{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2022 |title=Epstein's Ponzi Schemer Mentor Found Dead After a Welfare Check |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/steven-hoffenberg-jeffrey-epsteins-ponzi-schemer-pal-found-dead-after-a-welfare-check?ref=scroll |access-date=August 25, 2022 |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |language=en-US |archive-date=August 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826034236/https://www.thedailybeast.com/steven-hoffenberg-jeffrey-epsteins-ponzi-schemer-pal-found-dead-after-a-welfare-check?ref=scroll |url-status=live }}</ref> His body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and a Derby police officer estimated that he had been dead for roughly a week by the time his remains were found.<ref name="BNO"/><ref name = Shanahan/> An initial autopsy found no evidence of trauma on his body and police said they believe he died of natural causes. He had tested positive for [[COVID-19]] not long before his death.<ref name="DailyBeast"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffenberg, Steven}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
[[Category:American businesspeople convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:American chief executives of financial services companies]]
[[Category:American confidence tricksters]]
[[Category:American Jews]]
[[Category:American prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:American twins]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Criminals from New York City]]
[[Category:New York Post people]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government]]
[[Category:Pyramid and Ponzi schemes]]

Steven Hoffenberg - Revision history

imported>GreenC bot: Reformat 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:USURPURL and JUDI batch #27an