An investor has accused the hedge fund billionaire Philip A. Falcone of using his publicly listed company “to bail himself out” after a reaching an $18 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Times DealBook blog reported yesterday. In the weeks after the SEC settlement last August, Falcone’s hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners was confronted with a flurry of requests from investors to return their money, according to a complaint filed by a Harbinger Group shareholder, Haverhill Retirement System. In a desperate attempt to find capital to replace the money flowing out, according to the lawsuit, Falcone sold some shares in Harbinger Group, where he is chief executive. He later sold additional shares and added two seats to the board of directors, eventually securing a $400 million investment by the Leucadia National Corporation, the suit contends.
