NYU Still Honors Fraudsters
by James Armstrong, Reporter October 9, 2007
The Yalincak family has been discredited as frauds with two family members now serving prison sentences, but a New York University building still bears the name “Yalincak Family Foundation Lecture Hall.”
Hakan Yalincak and his mother Ayferafet ran Daedalus Capital, a fraudulent hedge fund firm that conned investors out of $7 million. Instead of investing that money, the Yalincaks spent most of it on credit card bills, jewelry, a new Porsche and other living expenses.
However, the Yalincak family also pledged to donate $21 million to NYU, where Hakan was still enrolled as a student. (He never graduated.) In gratitude, the university named a professorship of Ottoman studies after the Turkish family and dedicated a renovated lecture hall to them.
NYU only received $1.25 million of that pledge. The university promised to return any money that was improperly donated, and eventually gave back most of the gift. According to the school’s student paper, the Washington Square News, NYU kept about $200,000 of the money to offset costs incurred by the fraudulent donation.
Now, the paper is reporting some students and professors are disturbed by the fact the discredited name is still etched in the window outside the building with Yalincak Hall. The name also appears on metal letters bolted to the wall of the building. The university claims removing the letters would mar the wall. It also says it would be difficult if not impossible to replace the glass panels in the window bearing the Yalincak name.
Both Yalincaks pleaded guilty to fraud charges and were sentenced earlier this year. The court gave Hakan Yalincak three and a half years in prison and ordered him to pay $4.18 million in restitution. His mother received a two-year sentence and will have to pay $2.35.
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