In 2011, Nicolo Naurafchan graduated from Yale Law School. Raised in Italy in a Persian Jewish family alongside his two brothers, Leonardo and Lorenzo, Nicolo would later be accused of orchestrating a sprawling insider trading scheme that allegedly operated for years. According to federal authorities, Nicolo worked at prominent New York City law firms and cultivated relationships with friends and colleagues at other major firms, who in turn allegedly supplied confidential insider information to traders at hedge funds and stock trading companies. Prosecutors claimed the operation generated tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits over nearly two decades.

Federal investigators alleged that Nicolo was assisted by fellow Yale Law graduate Avi Sutton, who was raised by a Syrian Jewish family from Jamaica Estates, Queens. The big law blogger Above the Law is all over this case, and all over Avi Sutton, they even covered his 2013 marriage, which was featured in the NYT. Bukharian Rabbi Jacob Nasirov of Anshei Shalom performed the ceremony.

Above the Law writes about the grueling working conditions and long hours that lawyers at big NYC law firms must endure and at times run hit pieces against abusive partners who run these big city law firms. Avi ultimately was not charged criminally in exchange for cooperating with federal authorities in their prosecution of Nicolo and others connected to the scheme. Nicolo’s brother Lorenzo was charged in connection with insider trading activities, but brother Leonardo Naurafchan, who owns a fancy Mexican kosher restaurant in Los Angeles, stayed out of trouble. Their friend Rob Yadgarov was also charged. Most of the people indicted had Jewish, Persian and Russian sounding last names.

There are three separate criminal cases with 10-15 defendants in each case pending in the Massachusetts Federal Court. There is also a civil case brought by the SEC against these insider traders. There are about 30 cooperating witnesses, who have not been charged, one of whom is Yale graduate Avi Sutton, who was good friends with Nicolo at Yale Law School, and maintained this friendship for many years after.

Nicolo funneled insider trading tips to his brother Lorenzo, who then expanded the circle further. Lorenzo allegedly passed confidential information to his hairstylist, Miakel Bishay, under an arrangement in which Bishay would pay Lorenzo a percentage of the profits generated from trades made by people Bishay recruited into the scheme. Lorenzo reportedly warned Bishay that Lorenzo himself could not trade on the information directly and instructed Bishay not to trade either, fearing that trading activity tied too closely to the source could expose the operation. The SEC alleged that Bishay ignored those warnings. Instead, Bishay allegedly passed portions of the confidential information to her friend, Nowel Milik, who in turn paid Bishay for the tips. Both Milik and Bishay were accused of trading on the nonpublic information. What began inside elite law firms and financial circles eventually filtered outward into friends, relatives, and even a luxury hair salon in Santa Monica, California, where Bishay reportedly operated a high-end business catering to affluent clients.

Ironically, the conspiracy began around 2014, the same year I was sent to the federal prison camp at Otisville for mortgage fraud stemming from my involvement in seven real estate closings back in 2007, where I earned approximately $5,000 in total legal fees. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse, federal prosecutors aggressively pursued cases against many lower-level participants in mortgage-related transactions, including closing attorneys and real estate professionals. Meanwhile, the major financial institutions whose conduct contributed to the housing crisis largely resolved matters through civil settlements involving billions of dollars in fines, with few, if any, senior banking executives facing criminal indictment.

I knew Nicolo and Avi during their time at Yale Law School around 2010. I met them through events in Yale’s Jewish community. Back then, both were party animals. Nicolo was very good looking and had girls chasing him all the time. Avi was not as good looking but he had plenty of girls chasing him. Who wouldn’t chase after a Yale Law graduate. They both liked “bling” as was part of their background and culture, Italian and Persian men love the color of shiny objects. They carried themselves with the ambition and taste for luxury that often surrounded elite law students headed for high-powered careers in New York City.

Nicolo and Avi were both the products of the American meritocracy, not to be confused with the word “democracy.” There is nothing democratic about admission into the nation’s elite law schools. By the time students arrive at places like Yale, most have been shaped for years by families, schools, and social environments that trained them to excel at the particular skills elite institutions reward: memorization, rapid analysis, test-taking, polished communication, and relentless competition. Some parents lack the time, resources, education, or stability to devote themselves to that kind of grooming process and you ended up in a community college and must stand in line at the McDonald’s while Nicolo and Avi have gourmet lunches delivered to them at their fancy law firms.

The money Nicolo and Avi made in salaries at their fancy NYC law firms pales in comparison to the monies made by their clients who run hedge funds and other trading firms. A full partner at an elite law firm can make a couple of million a year while a hedge fund guy can make that kind of money in one day. Nicolo and Avi were not partners at these law firms. They were either senior associates or junior partners, but not full partners, which is very difficult to attain. It wasn’t hard for Nicolo to attract other senior associates into his scheme. How far does a million bucks a year go in the City of New York, when you are living the high life?

Lawyers at these big law firms naturally get jealous of the millions being made by their clients, while they just live off the scraps. Greed is good? I don’t know. The Feds will be looking to send Nicolo away for a long time. Its unbelievable that these guys got away with such a massive scam for so many years. Did they ever fear that one day the Feds would use AI to monitor all these trades? Goyisha kops!

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