David Bergstein

{{Infobox person

| name = David Bergstein

| image =

| caption = Bergstein, circa 2014

| birth_name = David Rafael Bergstein

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|August 9, 1962}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, US

| years_active = 1984–2015

| occupation = {{hlist|Film producer|investment banker|real estate developer}}

| alma_mater = New York University (BS)

}}

David Rafael Bergstein (born 1962) is an American former financier and film producer. He started his career in real estate development before opening a business advisory firm focused on distressed assets and high-growth companies. He also branched out into independent film production between 2003 and 2010. In 2016, Bergstein was arrested on charges of defrauding $26 million from investors. He was found guilty in 2018 and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Early life and education

Bergstein was born in Brooklyn, New York{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-25-fi-thinkfilm25-story.html|title=A tough Hollywood debut|date=August 25, 2008|work=Los Angeles Times|last2=Friedman|first2=Josh|first1=Claudia|last1=Eller|access-date=March 19, 2014}} and grew up with his father Leonard Bergstein, an engineering professor, inventor and Holocaust survivor.

After graduating high school early, Bergstein went on to receive a BS with a concentration in pre-medicine and mathematics at Polytechnic Institute of New York University. He also later attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bergstein/|title=David Bergstein Huffington Post|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=March 19, 2014}} During his time in law school, Bergstein went on to become a research analyst, first for Salomon Brothers and then for Bear Stearns, where he specialized in the analysis of troubled or undervalued companies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/Research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=284742137&privcapId=284740643&previousCapId=284740643&previousTitle=Cyrano%20Group,%20Inc.|title=Bloomberg {{!}} Company Overview of Cyrano Group, Inc. - Executive Profile of David Bergstein|last=|first=|date=|website=Bloomberg News|publisher=|access-date=}}

Career

After relocating to Los Angeles in 1984, Bergstein made a career buying and selling real estate which later transferred into real estate development. By the 1990s, Bergstein shifted his business focus from real estate to focus on acquiring or advising on distressed operating companies and debt. Bergstein later founded the Cyrano Group, a private equity and advisory firm, where he was CEO.

In 2003, Bergstein and business partner Ron Tutor loaned money to Franchise Pictures, a film production company headed by Elie Samaha. When the company went bankrupt, Bergstein and Tutor became owners of dozens of Franchise's films. By 2006, they had also acquired Capitol Films and ThinkFilm, in the process becoming major players in the independent film sector.

In March 2010, fourteen creditors attempting to force the five companies controlled by Bergstein and Tutor into Chapter 11 bankruptcy were granted an emergency motion by a court to have an interim trustee appointed to oversee the companies.{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Fritz |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/03/creditors-attempting-to-force-bergstein-into-bankruptcy.html|title=Creditors attempting to force David Bergstein's companies into bankruptcy (updated)|date=March 18, 2010|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 25, 2014}}{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Fritz |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/03/court-appoints-trustee-to-oversee-bergsteins-companies.html|title=Court appoints trustee to oversee Bergstein's companies|date=March 30, 2010|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 19, 2014}} Capitol Films and ThinkFilm were formally declared bankrupt by a Federal judge in October 2010,{{cite news|first=Brent|last=Lang|url=https://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/bergsteins-thinkfilm-capitol-films-declared-bankrupt-21507|title=Bergstein's ThinkFilm, Capitol Films Declared Bankrupt|date=October 6, 2010|work=The Wrap|access-date=March 25, 2014|archive-date=January 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121183010/http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/bergsteins-thinkfilm-capitol-films-declared-bankrupt-21507|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/02/david-bergsteins-three-remaining-companies-forced-into-.html|title=David Bergstein's three remaining companies forced into bankruptcy|first=Ben |last=Fritz|date=February 9, 2011|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 19, 2014}} and Bergstein's remaining three companies—R2D2, CT-1 Holdings and Capco—in 2011.{{cite news |first=Brent |last=Lang |url=https://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/judge-sends-david-bergsteins-remaining-companies-bankruptcy-24608|title=Bergstein's Remaining Companies Pushed into Bankruptcy |date=February 9, 2011|work=The Wrap|access-date=March 25, 2014}} One of the creditors that had forced Bergstein's companies into bankruptcy, Aramid Entertainment Fund, had its claims against Bergstein's companies dismissed in 2012 — a judgment that was upheld by an appellate court in 2013.{{cite news|first=Sindhu |last=Sundar |work=Law360 |title=Bergstein Beats Aramid's $190M Suit in NY Appeals Court |date=April 30, 2014 |url=http://www.law360.com/articles/437373/bergstein-beats-aramid-s-190m-suit-in-ny-appeals-court |access-date=April 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130151/http://www.law360.com/articles/437373/bergstein-beats-aramid-s-190m-suit-in-ny-appeals-court |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown }} In 2012 the former in-house counsel for Capitol Films who had left the company to work for Aramid, was successfully sued by Bergstein for breach of fiduciary trust and malpractice and ordered to pay $50 million in damages to Bergstein.{{cite web|date=August 22, 2012|title=Capitol's David Bergstein Awarded $50M+$500K In Lawsuit Against Ex-Counsel|url=https://deadline.com/2012/08/film-financier-david-bergstein-awarded-49-5m-by-jury-in-lawsuit-against-ex-counsel-322668/|publisher=Deadline Holywood|language=|last=Patten|first=Dominic|access-date=April 23, 2014}}{{cite web|date=August 21, 2012|title=Bergstein Wins $49.5M From Atty For Forced Bankruptcies|url=http://www.law360.com/articles/371927/bergstein-wins-49-5m-from-atty-for-forced-bankruptcies?related_articles=1|publisher=Law360|language=|last=Randles|first=Jonathan|access-date=April 23, 2014}}{{cite web|date=August 13, 2012|title=Ex-Bergstein Atty Admits Targeting Companies For Bankruptcy|url=http://www.law360.com/articles/369458/ex-bergstein-atty-admits-targeting-companies-for-bankruptcy|publisher=Law360|language=|last=Winnick|first=Zach |access-date=April 23, 2014}}{{cite web|date=August 14, 2012|title=Ex-Bergstein Atty Said She Would Destroy Docs, Jury Hears|url=http://www.law360.com/articles/369878/ex-bergstein-atty-said-she-would-destroy-docs-jury-hears|publisher=Law360|language=|last=Randles|first=Jonathan |access-date=April 23, 2014}} In 2014, another creditor, Screen Capital International, had its claims rejected by a federal judge. Lawyers successfully argued that it was not a legitimate creditor because it had purchased the claims from another entity.{{cite news|first=Maria |last=Chutchian |work=Law360 |title=Screen Capital's Claims Axed From Bergstein Bankruptcies |date=March 10, 2014 |url=http://www.law360.com/articles/517185/screen-capital-s-claims-axed-from-bergstein-bankruptcies |access-date=March 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326122315/http://www.law360.com/articles/517185/screen-capital-s-claims-axed-from-bergstein-bankruptcies |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown }} The U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts dismissed the outstanding involuntary bankruptcy cases in 2016.{{Cite web |first=Megan |last= Nicolai |title=Federal Courts Approve Settlement and Dismissal of Involuntary Bankruptcy Cases Filed Against Noted Film Entrepreneur David Bergstein |date=March 28, 2016 |publisher=PRWeb |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/federal_courts_approve_settlement_and_dismissal_of_involuntary_bankruptcy_cases_filed_against_noted_film_entrepreneur_david_bergstein/prweb13282047.htm |access-date=July 16, 2016}}

Bergstein also took an advisory role in the sale of Miramax in 2010 to an investor group that included his partner, Ron Tutor. The purchase, for $660 million, included the rights to more than 700 library titles.{{cite news|first=Lauren A. E. |last=Schucker |title=Hollywood Outsiders to Buy Miramax |date=July 31, 2010 |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703999304575398471332427574 |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221015327/http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703999304575398471332427574 |archive-date=December 21, 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown }} In 2012, Bergstein sued the owners of Miramax alleging they had reneged on paying him a $6.1 million fee and a 3.33 percent stake as compensation for his role in the acquisition;{{cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/david-bergstein-miramax.html |title=David Bergstein sues Miramax owners |first=Ben |last=Fritz| date=April 9, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 26, 2014}} the litigation ended two weeks later when Bergstein and Miramax reached a settlement.{{cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/miramax-and-david-bergstein-settle-lawsuit.html |title=Miramax and David Bergstein settle lawsuit |first=Ben |last=Fritz| date=April 24, 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 11, 2014}}

On November 9, 2016, Bergstein was arrested at his Hidden Hills, California home after being indicted for fraud,{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Producer David Bergstein Arrested in $26M Fraud |date=November 9, 2016 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/producer-david-bergstein-arrested-26m-fraud-946071 |access-date=June 27, 2018}} and was convicted by a Federal jury on March 1, 2018, of defrauding investors out of $26 million.{{cite news |first=Gene |last=Maddaus |title=David Bergstein Convicted of Defrauding Investors Out of $26 Million |date=March 2, 2018 |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/david-bergstein-convicted-1202715647/ |access-date=June 27, 2018}} In June 2018 Bergstein was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine. Bergstein cried as he requested leniency but United States federal judge P. Kevin Castel said his crimes needed to be "punished severely" to "send a message".{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Producer David Bergstein Gets Eight Years in Prison for Fraud |date=June 27, 2018 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/heart-sea-producer-david-bergstein-gets-eight-years-prison-fraud-1123803 |access-date=July 31, 2018}}

Personal life

In 2011, Bergstein, along with his wife Sara, formally dedicated the Conejo Jewish Academy's adult education program to Bergstein's father, naming the program "Leonard Bergstein Jewish Academy."[http://www.jewishacademy.com/2014Winter/detail.asp?ID=90 Conejo Jewish Academy: A project of Chabad of the Conejo—Dedicated in Memory of Leonard Bergstein] Bergstein is on the board of the Sheriff's Youth Foundation, a youth program run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the board at the Grossman Burn Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting burn survivors and their families.{{cite web|url=http://sheriffsyouthfoundation.org/three-new-members-join-foundation-board/|title=Three New Members Join Foundation Board|work=Sheriff's Youth Foundation |date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=Sheriff's Youth Foundation of Los Angeles County|access-date=March 19, 2014}} Bergstein is also a featured contributor for Huffington Post, the Times of Israel, the Algemeiner online newspaper, and other periodicals.{{cite web|url=http://www.algemeiner.com/author/david-bergstein/|title=David Bernstein|publisher=The Algemeiner|access-date=March 19, 2014}}

Selected filmography

The films Bergstein has been involved in include:{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/1224660/David%20Bergstein.html?dataSet=1|title=I Variety Profile – David Bergstein|work=Variety, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413012109/http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/1224660/David%20Bergstein.html?dataSet=1|archive-date=April 13, 2010}}