Caspersen’s scheme only lasted for about six months. He lost most of the money in November trading short-term options on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, prosecutors said. Then in March, he told his investor that an opportunity had come up for the foundation to put in another $20 million. Caspersen used his family as a lure, saying they were investing $5 million. The foundation wasn’t named in the charges.
That’s when the fraud unraveled. On March 7, Caspersen’s victim asked to speak to an executive at Coller Capital, who was listed on some of the fake investment documents. Instead, Caspersen allegedly set up a domain name similar to Coller’s that morning, and sent his victim an e-mail that looked like it was from the executive. Then Caspersen impersonated the Coller executive on a conference call. Chris Gillick, a spokesman for Coller, declined to comment.
The ruse didn’t work. Another employee of the victim’s hedge fund spotted the discrepancy that day and discovered the domain had just been set up. The investor confronted Caspersen, who said everything was fine and the money would be returned by the end of the month, according to the government.
Didn’t Bite
The next day, Caspersen tried to get another firm to invest $50 million in the scheme. The company didn’t bite, prosecutors said. But as recently as March 18, Caspersen was still telling his investor that he’d send the money by March 31.
PJT discovered his scheme about two weeks ago, according to people familiar with the matter. It hired the law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison to investigate, then alerted U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Caspersen was arrested at an airport on March 26.
Bharara called it a "shameful charade -- creating fake e-mail addresses, setting up misleading domain names, and inventing fictional financiers."
PJT, named for former Morgan Stanley banker Paul Taubman, said in the statement that it has insurance coverage that it believes would cover much of any potential liability it has. Representatives for PJT declined to comment beyond the statement.
Caspersen and his family own Westby Corp. in Hobe Sound, Florida, which raises cattle, grows oranges and grapefruit and controls commercial real estate, according to state records and the firm’s website. A recorded message at Westby’s phone number says: “Westby Corporation has closed its offices. Please do not leave a message as this phone is no longer monitored.”