Beleaguered PIPE fund manager Corey Ribotsky has settled two-year old fraud charges leveled by the Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay more than $14 million in disgorged profits and penalties rather than continue to contest charges that as the general partner of NIR Group, he repeatedly lied to investors regarding the valuation of the fund’s microcap securities holdings, the fund’s returns, the liquidity of the fund, his education, and that he repeatedly misappropriated funds for his personal use. Under the terms of the November 18 agreement, Ribotsky did not admit, nor can he deny, the charges in the SEC’s complaint. During the more than five years since the SEC investigation was reported in the press, the Long Island, NY-based fund manager vociferously maintained his innocence and repeatedly attacked the journalists and their news organizations for reporting on the investigation, and the SEC’s investigators for pursuing it. In its hey-day NIR Group was one of the most prolific PIPE-dedicated hedge funds in the market, investing over $225 million in more than 140 microcap companies. The fund had a reputation for investing in some of the smallest, least liquid and most distressed companies in the PIPE market, with more than 80% of its investments placed in companies which market caps under $20 million.
