Wilf Family Ordered To Pay $84.5M In Fraud Case

((HT: KARE-TV))

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Deanne Wilson has ordered Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf, and their cousin to pay $84.5 million to two former business partners they defrauded in a 1980s real estate deal. It was ruled they committed fraud and breach of contract and violated the state's civil racketeering laws in their dealings with Ada Reichmann and her brother Josef Halpern.

The Wilf family was sued by Halpern and Reichmann over a proposed 764-unit apartment complex. Halpern and Reichmann were paid as on-site managers, but were cut out of the revenues worked out of the project.

The Wilfs' attorneys said they plan to appeal. The family won't have to pay any of the award until all appeals have been exhausted. The trial took almost seven months to complete and any appeal could take up to three years to be heard. It was also 21 years in the making...

Here's the early judgment...
Naturally, there is a point of concern... the running of the Vikings and the construction of the new downtown stadium. BUT... Minneapolis Stadium Facilities Authority chair Michele Kelm Helgen and Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley say that the ruling will have no effect on it. "The Vikings and the Wilf family have the financial ability to meet the private commitments of the stadium project regardless of the outcome of this legal matter," Bagley said. The MSFA recently wrapped up a due diligence inquiry to verify that the Wilfs could cover their share of the Vikings stadium costs. We'll see where that goes... Here's the KSTP-TV version... And here's the judge's order in full...