A U.S. judge has appointed a new receiver to oversee the unwinding of assets held by hedge fund firm Platinum Partners, after the first receiver resigned over disagreements with federal securities regulators, Reuters reported on Friday. In a written order on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry in Brooklyn accepted the resignation of Bart Schwartz, chairman of professional monitoring firm Guidepost Solutions LLC. Schwartz had been appointed receiver after prosecutors in December accused Platinum leaders of running a more than $1 billion fraud. The six men have pleaded not guilty. At the suggestion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Irizarry appointed former bankruptcy judge Melanie Cyganowski, now head of law firm Otterbourg's bankruptcy group, as Schwartz's replacement. The agency is pursuing civil claims against the Platinum leaders.
