Newly unsealed court records confirm that Felix Sater, a former business associate of President Donald Trump, was an invaluable FBI source who used his ties to the criminal underworld to rat out . According to New York, following his separation from Bayrock he went to work for the Trump Organization, even carrying a business card listing his title as Senior Advisor to Donald Trump. Despite that, Trump denies ever employing Sater directly. During his time in Moscow and traveling around eastern Europe, Sater began cultivating ties to arms dealers, officials in US law enforcement and national security agencies, andaccording to his interview in New Yorkeven meeting with the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. (Manafort, of course, is under intense scrutiny in the Russiagate investigation from Mueller and two committees of Congress over his possible role as a go-between in collusion between Russias spy network and the Trump campaign. Sater, 53, went to Russia to work with Mirax real estate mogul Sergei Polonsky in 2008, and returned to the US in 2010. Last January The New York Times reported, During a trip in 2006, Mr. Sater and two of Mr. Trumps children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, stayed at the historic Hotel National Moscow opposite the Kremlin, connecting with potential partners over the course of several days., After the financial crisis of 2008, Bayrock ran into difficulty, and Sater went out on his own. Portions of the information related to Italian and Russian mob operations and placed the safety of Mr. Ray and his family at risk.. inline_cta_url_258356 = 'https://www.thenation.com/donate-website?utm_medium=website&utm_source=Website&utm_campaign=june-appeal&sourceid=1066666&ms=post-inline&utm_content=post-inline'; Despite that record, which came before he worked with Trump, Sater spent nearly a decade working with the Trump Organization in search of deals in Russia and other former Soviet republics. In 2006 there was a lawsuit that alleged that Sater made a death threat against a Bayrock investor named Ernie Menez. The building is a $450 million, 46-story, 391-unit hotel condominium located at 246 Spring Street in SoHo, New York City. In so doing, for protection Sater drew on the assistance of his fathers friends in the Genovese crime family. Felix Sater also served for the current president Donald Trumps The Trump Organization and also worked for the Rixos Hotels and TxOil. . Russiagate According to the Times, citing other defendants in the case, Sater pled guilty to racketeering charges for bilking at least $40 million from his investors. In his interview with New York magazine, he hinted ominously about the near future. tips@lawandcrime.com Filed Under: tn_pos: 'rectangle_1', S o who, exactly, is Felix Sater? He is a convicted felon who has been accused of dealings with Russian and American organized crime. inline_cta_font_color_258356 = '#000000'; In 2017, Sater agreed to cooperate with investigators into international money laundering schemes. In it, Sater and Cohen worked with Andrii Artemenko, a Ukrainian opposition politician who himself had a questionable past, having spent time in prison in Ukraine for an embezzlement scheme, according to the New York Times story last February that first broke the news of his collaboration with Sater and Cohen (the charges against Artemenko were eventually dropped). In a statement to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week, Cohen did admit writing to Dmitry Peskov in connection with Saters work. top of page. [50][51], The Trump Organization pursued a luxury hotel and condominium project in Moscowdubbed the Trump Tower Moscowduring the Trump presidential campaign. . cta_1_check_258356 = true; Clair insists that whatever happens in the hearings, Sater cant obfuscate in family court, saying, Unlike the politics in Washington, the divorce court is the crucible of truth., Sater confirmed the divorce to Page Six and said, Viki was a fantastic wife, the most amazing mother and we raised three beautiful daughters together.. Felix Sater provided information crucial to National Security and the conviction of over 20 individuals - including those responsible for committing massive financial fraud and members of La Cosa . So who, exactly, is Felix Sater? Khrapunov, who now lives in Switzerland, has been accused by the Kazakhstani government of embezzling millions of dollars and is wanted by Interpol. inline_cta_2_bg_color_258356 = '#cc0e0e'; He pleaded guilty in 1998 to one count of. if( inline_cta_bg_color_258356 !='' ){ Have Voters Noticed? ", "Trump picked stock fraud felon as senior adviser", "How a Lawyer, a Felon and a Russian General Chased a Moscow Trump Tower Deal", "Felix Sater, the spy, criminal, and mafia-linked executive tied to Trump Tower Moscow, explained", "Felix Sater: the business partner Donald Trump wants nothing to do with", "A Trump associate bragged that a business deal with Putin could "get Donald elected", "Trump associate Felix Sater's testimony postponed to March 27", "House Intel panel postpones interview with Felix Sater to focus on Mueller findings", "Russia-Born Executive to Testify About Trump Moscow Project", "5 Questions with Woman of Influence, Viki's Granola's Viki Sater", "Felix Sater Man Of The Year: Chabad of Port Washington", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Sater&oldid=1117840214, American people of Russian-Jewish descent, Russian businesspeople in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles with disputed statements from November 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 October 2022, at 21:26. They are. Saters links to Trump in recent years are obscure. var inline_cta_bg_color_258356 = ''; Before in 1998, Sater pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $40 Million stock fraud by the Russian Mafia. slotId: "thenation_article_indent", Dec 1, 2020, 10:28 AM EST. } tn_author: ['bob-d'], { jQuery("#inline_cta_2_module_258356").addClass("tn-inline-cta-module"); Click here to log inor subscribe. [48] Ablyazov's alleged fraud is one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in history. Now Saters wife, Viktoria, 51, a striking blonde with whom he lived on Long Island and shares three daughters, has had enough, according to a source, and filed for divorce March 19. An FBI forensic accountant tracked the byzantine ways money trickled in from her clients to Ray, largely through GoDaddy, the witness said. [55][56][57][58], Sater's anticipated public testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, scheduled for March 27, 2019,[59] was postponed pending the imminent release of the Mueller Report. Well, Sater also enjoys a massive net worth. Required fields are marked *. tn_author: ['bob-d'], [38], Felix Sater has been described as a career criminal due to his links to organized crime. Other counts against Raysuch as sex trafficking, money laundering, and extortionare also commonly charged against criminal rackets. A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Thanks for contacting us. freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ [60] He was then rescheduled to give closed-door testimony on June 21, 2019. 3. Trump Seeks Distance From 'Advisor' With Past Ties to Mafia", "The Donald Trump Story You're Not Hearing About", "Felix Sater: The Crook Behind the Trump-Russia 'Peace' Plan", "In Moscow Luxury-Tower Plan, Donald Trump Paired With Developer for Russia's Working Class", "Trump's Would-Be Moscow Partner Faces Homebuyers' Ire", "Felix Sater: The Trump SoHo and Other Projects", "A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates", "Russia can't rent Crimea from Russia, FM Lavrov says", "Felix Sater Is a Lean, Mean Trump-Russia Machine", "Who is Felix Sater? (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images). if( magazine_button_text_258356 !='' ){ Moreover, the couple has not disclosed any information about conflicts which can lead them to the divorce. d.getElementById("contentad428986").appendChild(s); Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. He grew up along with his sister Regina Sater. var cta_1_check_258356 = false; Boy, I have to even think about it.. Following his prosecution in a Russian mafia-linked fraud scheme, Sater became a prolific government cooperator. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (function(d) { Jan 26. [13][14] On July 9, 2019, Sater appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, but repeatedly withheld testimony and documents concerning the details of a false joint defense agreement and thus remains under subpoena. jQuery("#magazine_button_258356 a").attr("href",magazine_button_url_258356); [34][35], In addition to real estate development endeavors, Sater also has started businesses in the fields of philanthropy, investment, retail, and energy. This story has been shared 129,285 times. Sater Regency Capital 1998; cta_1_check_258356 = true; [19] According to the FBI, Mikhail Sheferovsky was an underboss for Russian Mafia "boss of bosses" Semion Mogilevich, and was convicted of extorting money from local restaurants, grocery stores, and a medical clinic. }, Sorting out Saters checkered past leads into a convoluted labyrinth of crime, legal entanglements, shady deals, alleged ties to US and foreign intelligence agencies and, of course, intimate connections to Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. I walked in his door and told him, Im gonna be the biggest developer in New York, and you want to be my partner. After that, Sater said, hed frequently pop into Trumps own office to talk about this or that deal. Felix Sater is back. He was at Iliyas' wedding party. var inline_cta_text_258356 = ''; Colorful former Trump business associate Felix Sater who will testify before two congressional panels this week about Trump and Russia is facing more legal woes after his wife of 25. In 2015 emails Sater boasted to Cohen about his ties to Vladimir Putin and how Trump would win. var inline_cta_2_button_text_258356 = ''; In 1998, Sater pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $40 million stock fraud scheme orchestrated by the Russian Mafia,[9][10] and became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and federal prosecutors, assisting with organized crime investigations. magazine_button_text_258356 = ''; (Photo of Ray via DOJ; image of Capone credited to FBI), Have a tip we should know? if( inline_cta_2_button_text_258356 !='' ){ var is_user_logged_in = getCookie('SESSname'); Felix Sater accumulates an excellent earning out of his profession as a real estate developer. inline_cta_2_url_258356 = 'https://subscriptions.thenation.com/loading.do?omedasite=Nation_Gift'; The report describes Sater as a "New York-based real estate advisor," which is technically accurate but a bit like calling O.J. He has been an advisor to corporations such as The Trump Organization,[8] and the Mirax Group. Felix Sater speaks at the Chabad of Port Washington in Port Washington, New York, in 2014. 28,331, This story has been shared 24,229 times. The woman who called herself the wife of accused Sarah Lawrence sex cult leader Larry Ray told a federal jury that she was frightened to leave him in part because of a remark he made about his family. [30], In 2008, Sater joined the board of the Russian real estate company Mirax Group, owned by Sergei Polonsky. So Larry and Poppy would both tell stories about how they would go out together, go grab a drink, and then somebody would start a fight, and they would both end up fighting in a bar brawl on way more than one occasion, Rosario told a jury, explaining why she was scared to leave their orbit. tn_subject: ['criminal-j', 'election-2', 'political-', 'world-lead'], and his wife Leila and . Felix Sater - the Trump Organization contact who pushed for a Moscow development project and Mueller investigation witness - was a decade ago a federal government informant to "a depth and. According to recent reporting by the Times and the Post, however, as recently as 2015-16, Sater and Cohen, Trumps lawyer and the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, were working together on a Trump Tower Moscow arrangement, though that too didnt pan out. Well, Felix started his career in the field of real estate serving as the senior advisor to Chairman Fettah Tamince of Rixos Otelleri, a hotel, and resort company. Felix Sater has been cast as a Russian mafioso, a career criminal, and a key business associate of President Donald Trump's but he spent more than two decades as an intelligence asset who helped the US government track terrorists and mobsters. [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. Notice this is Maxim Temnikov, as well as his name backwards, and his wife (a guess) Elena Temnikov, as well as Felix Sater listed as the key people. tn_keyword: ['criminal-r', 'donald-tru', 'ivanka-tru', 'russia', 'trump-and-', 'us-intelli', 'vladimir-p'], A trove of document released today by federal authorities revealed how convicted stock fraudster Felix Sater provided a wealth of information on everything from the Mafia to al Qaeda to. Sater threatened to have a man electrically shock Menez genitals, cut off his legs, and have him put in the trunk of a car. 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Even allowing for Saters long-established record as a liar and self-promoter, theres plenty here for Mueller and other investigators to dig into. 57,237, This story has been shared 28,331 times. } The Case Against Privatizing Social Security, How Minor League Baseball Scored Itself a Union. While Robert Mueller found that Trump did not collude nor conspire with Russia, Sater who has powerful Russian oligarch contacts, as well as strong links in the Russian business and intelligence community, is expected to be interrogated by Congress about involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow project and other Trump business dealings. Furthermore, in 2008 and 2009, he first joined the Russian real estate company Mirac Group and later became a managing director at Global Habitat Solution. And Sater, too, seems to believe that something big is coming. Felix Sater is a Russian-born dealmaker with organised-crime connections who worked on US property ventures that licensed Donald Trump's name, including Trump Soho in Manhattan. Simpson a . 'https' : 'http'; On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. if( magazine_button_url_258356 !='' ){ Sater, a longtime former business associate of Trump's linked to the mob, is accused of laundering millions of dollars stolen by Khazakh . } Hes been in that position in the past so this is not an entirely unusual circumstance, Drager said. But Sater and Cohen would cooperate on another venture. Fisher MB LLC purchased a condo in Miami, Florida for $4.8 million. Later he worked with the SembolConstruction in Turkey. jQuery("#inline_cta_258356").html(inline_cta_text_258356); Mikhail Sheferovsky (also known as Michael Sheferofsky) states that the family name was Saterov at some point (). Historical Amnesia About Slavery Is a Tool of White Supremacy. Well, Felix also finished a project for The Trump Organization of a building construction with a full cost of around $450 Million in a 46-story and 391-unit hotel condominium located at the Spring Street in SoHo. However, the couple has not yet disclosed any information about how they met for the first time. if( inline_cta_text_258356 !='' ){ magazine_button_url_258356 = 'https://subscriptions.thenation.com/Nation_index?pk=G2A1CLT'; Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991, when he grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face., Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991, when he grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face., Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991according to the indictment, as reported by Bagli in the Timeswhen Sater, then an upstart stockbroker in his mid-20s, grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face. [23][24][25] He subsequently worked at brokerages Ladenburg Thalmann, Broadchild Securities, Rooney Pace, Shearson, Moseley Securities, Gruntal & Co., and Lehman Brothers. var magazine_text_258356 = ''; Tim OBrien, author of a biography of Trump, wrote about Sater in an article titled Lean, Mean Trump-Russia Machine. He was born in 1966 in the Soviet Union, and he and his family moved to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, New York, when he was just 8. jQuery("#inline_cta_btn_258356 a input").css("background",inline_cta_bg_color_258356); An unindicted co-conspirator in that indictment was Felix Sater, a former business associate of Donald Trump, who helped broker the never-realized plan to build a Trump Tower Moscow. } How did I get to Donald? Felix Sater, a real estate developer who has worked with the Trump Organization, discussed the Fusion GPS founder, Glenn Simpson, while . A federal judge in Brooklyn ordered on Monday the unsealing of previously secret portions of the court record involving the criminal case of Felix Sater, a former associate of President Donald. The firm later set up its headquarters on the 24th floor of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, just below Trumps own suite of offices. A witness who appeared before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday accused the founder of Fusion GPS, the firm behind the infamous Steele dossier, of committing perjury during a Senate interview in 2017. [33] He left Bayrock Group LLC in 2008 after the New York Times disclosed his pending criminal case. cta_2_check_258356 = true; } Felix Henry Sater / setr / (born Felix Mikhailovich Sheferovsky; [4] [5] Russian: ; March 2, 1966) is a Russian-American mobster, convicted felon, [6] real estate developer and former managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, [7] a real estate conglomerate based out of New York City. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He has not revealed his body measurements. } var inline_cta_font_color_258356 = ''; He allegedly washed enormous sums of that money through GoDaddy.com, where he reportedly bought thousands of domain names. As we previously mentioned, Felix Sater is a married man. I will get all of Putins [sic] team to buy in on this. Now there are stunning new allegations in federal court documents that this Russian criminal network with worldwide reach hired Felix Sater, one of Trump's closest yet disavowed associates, to hide a fortune stolen in Kazakhstan. Felix Mikhailovich Sheferovsky or Haim Felix Sater, Criminal convictions and federal cooperation, Involvement with Trump Organization during presidential campaign, Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, National Association of Securities Dealers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia, Links between Trump associates and Russian officials, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, "Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers", "How A Player In The Trump-Russia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy", " : , ", "Real Estate Executive With Hand in Trump Projects Rose From Tangled Past", "Meet the ex-con who ties himself to Trump", " : ", "Trump lawyer 'paid by Ukraine' to arrange White House talks", "Who Is Felix Sater?