According to court filings, Platt’s request came after BlueCrest’s value dropped by about half, with additional losses projected after the departure of Leda Braga, the head of computer-based trading who left to start her own firm. Braga now manages more money than any other hedge fund run solely by a woman. Her main fund, the $8.4 billion BlueTrend, returned 9.5 percent in January, one of the biggest gains for hedge funds globally.

Tried To Call

Whitney said in an affidavit filed in court that she immediately e-mailed Platt after getting the redemption notice, and that Platt responded that he tried to call and that the request was “retractable.”

Whitney said she e-mailed BlueCrest on Nov. 7 to say the request couldn’t be honored because her fund hadn’t violated terms of its contract. Two weeks later, Platt told Whitney that BlueCrest can do anything it wants because it wrote the contract, according to Whitney.

Whitney said she explained that returning money would damage outside investors, to which Platt responded, “What do you have in outside money, one dollar, two dollars?” according to Whitney.

“The conversation ended with Mr. Platt when I stated that his early redemption request was not legal,”Whitney said. “He said then he would let the lawyers deal with it.”

Whitney said she got a call the next day from BlueCrest’s chief legal officer, Paul Dehadray, who wanted to find a “responsible, graceful solution.” Three days later, she said, she didn’t respond when Dehadray told her BlueCrest would allow her to retain the investment if she could guarantee losses. A week later, BlueCrest said it would sue, she said.

Before it did, Martin Newsom, a mutual friend who had introduced the two in 2008, contactedWhitney through text, phone and Snapchat messages because Platt had asked him to pursue a last-ditch effort at resolving the dispute, she said.

Whitney said Newsom told her Platt, a billionaire, could “crush” her and ensure she’ll “never be able to raise or manage money again,” she said in her affidavit. “I responded that his actions thus far had all but solidified that damage already.”

Whitney added that BlueCrest has done “everything it could” to damage Kenbelle, including pressuring the fund’s administrator to withhold management fees.