A New York lawyer who helped another man impersonate his successful father in order to raise money to buy Maxim magazine was sentenced to six months in prison on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan sentenced Harvey Newkirk, 40, on Thursday for participating in the fraudulent scheme. He was convicted of committing wire fraud in helping felon Calvin Darden Jr. secure financing for the failed $31 million deal.
“I am so sorry for the impact of my actions on my wife and children,” Newkirk said.
The scheme to acquire Maxim involved lying to lenders and having Darden impersonate his father, Calvin Darden Sr, a former United Parcel Service Inc. executive whom lenders were falsely told was putting up collateral for the loans, according to prosecutors.
Rakoff ordered Newkirk to pay $3.1 million in restitution, saying he “used his position as a lawyer to commit a knowing and willful fraud, and that can’t be ignored.”
Newkirk plans to appeal.