Former HFZ Exec Nir Meir Arrested in Miami, Days After Filing for Bankruptcy
Meir will be extradited to New York City
By Chava Gourarie February 6, 2024 2:02 pm
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Nir Meir, formerly of New York’s HFZ Capital, has been arrested in Miami-Dade County and is facing out-of-state extradition, according to Miami-Dade records.
Meir was arrested Monday evening as an out-of-state fugitive, Curbed first reported. The records did not have details on the arrest, but the The New York Times said it was related to a multimillion-dollar fraud case in connection with construction firm Omnibuild. Meir will be extradited to New York City in a wider case that’s expected to involve multiple individuals, per the Times.
The one-time HFZ Capital executive is facing a slew of lawsuits in New York following the implosion of the firm in 2020, as he’s being sued by various investors, creditors and his former partner Ziel Feldman, who has largely blamed Meir for the company’s woes.
The arrest comes days after Meir, who has been living in Miami Beach, filed for bankruptcy in Florida court claiming just $50 to his name, and close to $30 million in liabilities, according to court records. “The information in the petition represents his assets as of the days of the filing,” Peter Shapiro, the lawyer representing Meir in the bankruptcy case, said.
Much of the debt is disputed, and part of the web of alleged fraud and deceit tied to the collapse of HFZ Capital. The largest chunk of is a $19.7 million judgment owed to HFZ Capital investor Yoav Harlap, following a 2021 ruling against Meir.
Harlap, owner of Israeli car firm Colombil Corp., has been coming after Meir to collect the $20 million judgment, suggesting a tangle of fraud — including that Meir allegedly “ran away” to Miami Beach after transferring the majority stake in a $43 million Hamptons property to his now ex-wife’s name.
Meir’s ties to Miami Beach go back to his HFZ days. The company was involved in the Shore Club Residences in Miami Beach, which is currently being redeveloped by the Witkoff Group, but had to give it up after defaulting on a $113 million line of credit from Monroe Capital—which HFZ had procured to try and save the foundering company.
A lawyer representing Nir did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
Chava Gourarie can be reached at cgourarie@commercialobserver.com.
