Gotham City Reasearch has thoroughly investigated Grifols, but Grifols has also investigated Gotham and, in particular, his alma mater: Daniel Yu. In the lawsuit filed this Friday in New York against the said investor, to which EL PAÍS had access, he is described as a “criminal” and “fraud” and details his “sordid criminal history” and “his stints in prison”. Grifols has requested a jury trial in his lawsuit. Destroying Yu's credibility is a central aspect of his legal strategy.
Gotham City Research and Daniel Yu like to live in the shadows. Yu tries to maintain the mystery surrounding his identity and his actions, like a kind of Batman of Wall Street, as he is known. But after several attacks against various companies, he is increasingly coming into the spotlight.
“Gotham founder and director Yu has served multiple stints in prison, including one after he was accused of theft, identity theft and other financial crimes,” Grifols said in his lawsuit. “After his release, Yu created Gotham as a vehicle and shield for his criminal enterprises,” the text continues, recalling that Yu and Gotham were previously sued for alleged illegal and defamatory practices, but failed to appear in court and plead rebellion .
Grifols devotes part of his lawsuit to highlighting Yu's background. “Despite comparing himself to the Batman of Wall Street, Yu has a bad criminal record and is a convicted felon. “He was in prison for theft and was previously charged with identity theft and other financial crimes,” the lawsuit says.
Grifols states that Yu was charged in Colorado in 2007 with theft, robbery, identity theft and criminal possession of a financial device, all felonies under state law.
The lawsuit cites a May 29, 2007, arrest report that said Yu stole several cell phones, iPods, computers and company checks while working as a securities analyst for Dividend Capital. According to Grifols, Yu also stole passports and copied driver's licenses and other identification documents from several Dividend Capital employees. Colorado police conducted a forensic examination of one of the computers stolen from Yu and determined that Yu had used the computer to access websites related to identity theft, it said.
The text submitted by the Spanish company to the New York courts adds that a subsequent search of Yu's residence by Colorado police revealed that he was also in possession of checks, photocopies of credit cards, photocopies of driver's licenses, student ID cards, bank – and credit documents included card statements, bank account numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and other suspicious documents.
He pleaded guilty
Yu pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft on August 31, 2007. The court sentenced him to four years probation for the felony and one year probation for the petty misdemeanor. He was also ordered to pay $134,152.51 in restitution to Dividend Capital.
On January 25, 2008, the State of Colorado filed a motion to revoke Yu's probation on the grounds that Yu had failed to maintain a permanent residence in Colorado and had missed several probation dates. On January 28, 2008, an arrest warrant was issued for him. Then, on October 23, 2008, the court revoked the deferred sentence and Yu was resentenced to 90 days in prison, according to Grifols.
“The prison sentence did little to deter Yu from engaging in criminal activity,” says the lawsuit, which alleges that Yu continued to violate his probation in 2011, leaving Colorado without permission and lying about his employment status , as explained in detail.
As a result, Yu was arrested again on October 19, 2011 and charged with attempting to influence a public official and forgery. Both are felonies in Colorado. On February 17, 2012, Yu reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to influence a public official, a felony. He was sentenced to three months in the Denver County Jail.
In 2013, after his release from prison, Yu began publishing reports on alleged fraud and mismanagement of publicly traded companies using Gotham, which does not contain information about employees, headquarters or direct contacts. According to Grifols, it is also unclear whether Gotham remains a legal entity, as the state of Delaware deregistered Gotham LLC in 2021 after failing to designate a registered agent.
Lots of unknowns
In reality, as with the fictional superhero, there are many unknowns surrounding the Batman of Wall Street. The lawsuit states that, based on available information, he lives in Manhattan, New York, uses multiple aliases and frequently changes addresses. He is the founder, editor and author of Gotham and publishes the company's reports. Gotham has been successful in most of its bear attacks. In Spain he exposed the fraud of Gowex, which went bankrupt worthless. But there were also some slip-ups in other countries. In his offensive against Grifols, he got to the heart of some of the company's problems, but he also made very forced interpretations of his own and made big mistakes. He faces Grifols' lawsuit and a supervisory investigation into whether he spread misleading information to profit from it.
Gotham City Research LLC is registered as a limited liability company in Delaware. Its registered office is in New York State. According to available information, Gotham is under the exclusive control of Daniel Yu, Gotham's sole partner, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that Yu's personal funds and Gotham's are commingled.
However, Yu does not act alone. The action is also against Cyrus De Weck, an individual resident in England, and General Industrial Partners (GIP), a limited company registered in England and Wales. According to Grifols, Yu and De Weck co-founded GIP and agreed to take bearish positions that would allow GIP to benefit from Gotham's reports.
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