In re: 650 Fifth Avenue and Related Properties

  1. June 14, 2017

    US Cooperator In $1B Iran Asset Trial Denies Greed Motive

    An Iran-linked charity trying to stave off a billion-dollar U.S. real estate asset seizure attacked a key cooperating witness as an opportunist seeking a payday Wednesday, but not before jurors saw documents suggesting the supreme leader of the Mideast power had influence over the charity's New York operation.

  2. June 13, 2017

    Tax Whiz Can't Testify For Charity In Iran Forfeiture Fight

    A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a New York University expert from telling the jury tasked with deciding the outcome of a billion-dollar U.S. effort to seize the assets of an Iran-linked charity that a real estate deal at the heart of the trial was legal and tax-savvy.

  3. June 12, 2017

    Iran Took Control Over Manhattan High-Rise, Cooperator Says

    A cooperating witness in the U.S. effort to seize a 36-story midtown Manhattan high-rise over violations of sanctions against Iran told federal jurors Monday that officials in Tehran's religious government began calling the shots in the early 1980s as to how the building should be operated after taking power in 1979.

  4. June 07, 2017

    Charity's Mistrial Gambit Flops In Billion-Dollar Asset Row

    Manhattan U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest on Wednesday rejected a mistrial motion lodged by the Alavi Foundation, an Iran-linked charity seeking to stave off a billion-dollar U.S. real estate asset seizure effort tied to alleged sanctions violations.

  5. June 06, 2017

    Judge Demands Details On Iran-Linked Charity's Mistrial Bid

    Manhattan U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest pressed for specifics Tuesday about how a late flow of documents prejudiced the Alavi Foundation, an Iran-linked charity seeking to stave off a billion-dollar U.S. real estate asset seizure effort, by hampering Alavi's trial strategy.

  6. June 05, 2017

    Judge Allows Audio Tape In Row Over Iran-Owned NYC Tower

    The jury in a trial over the potential government seizure of Iran-linked Alavi Foundation's 650 Fifth Avenue high-rise can now hear a recording from the group's former accountant concerning alleged ties to the Iranian government after a New York federal judge refused Monday to nix the tape.

  7. June 01, 2017

    Judge Gives Fresh Warning In Trial Over Iran-Linked High-Rise

    U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest told counsel for the Iran-linked Alavi Foundation on Thursday not to liken a government effort to seize Alavi's 650 Fifth Avenue high-rise to an attempt to give the nonprofit the "death penalty" — a new warning that showed the challenge of keeping international politics out of the civil forfeiture trial.

  8. May 31, 2017

    Judge Rips Ex-Judge In Trial Over Iran-Linked High-Rise

    The federal government's effort to prove a valuable Manhattan office tower can be seized as a tool of the Iranian government was punctuated Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest's move to rebuke a former federal judge for statements to jurors that she deemed politically charged.

  9. May 30, 2017

    Terror-Tainted $800M High-Rise Must Be Forfeited, Jury Told

    A 36-story Manhattan office tower that could be worth $800 million stood for decades as a secret cash cow benefiting a hostile Iranian government and its national bank, a Manhattan federal jury heard Tuesday at the start of a three-week civil forfeiture trial that is likely to generate headlines worldwide.

  10. February 17, 2017

    Iranian-Linked NY Property Issue To Go To Jury

    A jury should decide whether the majority owner of a tower in Manhattan knew its business partner was controlled by the Iranian government after 1995, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday, punting one of the issues that will decide whether the owner must compensate terrorism victims.