Judge: Defendant Friedman

“Deemed To Be Aware” of Fraud Committed

by His Crooked Father

Simply not credible that Friedman gave father powers of attorney over

assets and didn’t believe he was an accessory to fraud by doing so

For Immediate Release

Mount Holly, October 26, 2011 – Democrat Sander Friedman’s recent personal attack on Surrogate George Kotch is all part of a ruse to conceal his own involvement in a quietly forgotten 16 year old case of fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, Burlington County Republicans charged.

The fraud centered on a case of medical malpractice in which Friedman’s father, Stuart Friedman, M.D., was found to have transferred his assets to his wife and three adult sons, including Sander Friedman, to hide them from a severely injured patient that the court said he “reduced to an elderly, crippled man.”

“How did an intelligent lawyer like Sander Friedman not believe he was an accessory to fraud when he willingly gave his drug-addict, corrupt, medical doctor father – who was being sued for malpractice for hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time by a former patient – full authority over his assets and income tax returns by executing powers of attorney in his favor, questioned Burlington County Republicans today.

Here are excerpts from the courts’ opinion in Jugan v. Friedman, et al:

Here is what the plaintiff charged:

“Dr Friedman has conveyed all his assets…to his adult sons, Seth, Sander and Stephen Friedman, ‘for the purpose of defrauding his creditors, including the plaintiff, and hindering and delaying the collection of the money due to the plaintiff.’”

Sander Friedman “knowingly participated in Dr. Friedman’s fraudulent transfers”

Here is what the court stated:

“Beginning some time during the 1980’s, Dr. Friedman had transferred his assets to his wife and children with ‘fraudulent intent.’”

“The trial judge refrained from making any express finding whether Dr. Friedman’s wife and sons shared his intent to defraud creditors.”

Sander “should have been aware of [the fraud] and would be deemed to have been aware of [the fraud] because [he] ceded [his] father full authority over the assets in [his] name and over [his] income tax returns, allegedly by executing powers of attorney in his favor.”

“Sander Friedman needs to apologize to voters for lying to them about being ‘vindicated’ in past lawsuits,” said Russell.  “The court found that Friedman was ‘deemed to have been aware’ of the fraud his father was committing, it just chose not to pursue it given that his father was forced to satisfy his creditor.”

“Frankly, it stretches the limits of credibility and truth to believe that an intelligent lawyer like Sander Friedman would give his drug addict, corrupt father, who was being sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars at the time, powers of attorney over his assets and income tax returns and not believe he was an accessory to fraud,” said Russell.  “Under tremendous pressure, Dr. Friedman tried to hide his assets with his sons just like Bernie Madoff did.  The difference is that in Madoff’s case, his sons had the guts and the decency to do the right thing and turn their father in.  Sander Friedman chose to look the other way.”