Freehold, NJ - Talks Fail; Dwek Case Remains Unsettled

Freehold, NJ - A three-hour effort by a judge to negotiate a major settlement in the Solomon Dwek bounced-check case failed, pushing PNC Bank closer to deciding whether to force Dwek into bankruptcy, according to two participants who asked not to be identified.

The effort began after the judge agreed to postpone a hearing into whether HSBC Bank should put aside $22.2 million that PNC says it wrongly received from Dwek in April.
If the judge had ordered HSBC to put the money into escrow pending a final decision, PNC would have been able to avoid reporting to investors and federal regulators a loss in the Dwek matter at the end of the current financial quarter, June 30. Unless a settlement is reached by Friday - which the two participants said wasn't likely - PNC must decide if it can get a better shot in federal bankruptcy court than in Lehrer's courtroom in Freehold.

Participants in the negotiations included Dwek, 33, of Ocean Township, and lawyers representing HSBC, PNC and two Brooklyn residents who say Dwek owes them a total of $80 million - Isaac S. Franco and Dwek's uncle, Joseph Dwek, 54. In all, more than 60 other claimants are suing Dwek for more than $320 million. Dwek's assets are being managed by court-appointed fiscal agent Donald M. Lomurro of Freehold Township.
Dwek has also been charged by the FBI with bank fraud.

Pearl Dwek, Solomon Dwek's wife appears to be the recorded owner of at least eight of the properties, certain public records show that Solomon Dwek or his companies own the properties, PNC claimed.
Pearl Dwek, 29, mother of a newborn baby, the couple's fifth child, was not at the hearing.