Adam Hochfelder, a real estate executive who pleaded guilty earlier this year to defrauding investors, relatives and lenders out of more than $18 million, was sentenced to a minimum of two years, eight months and a maximum of eight years in prison yesterday by Judge Michael Obus and ordered to pay $9.5 million in restitution, according to an article at therealdeal.com by Sarabeth Sanders.

Mr. Hochfelder, "who hugged family members upon entering Manhattan Supreme Court," the article said, "sat silently for most of sentencing before seeking leniency in a statement. 'My commitment to all of you is to make amends and to pay restitution,' Hochfelder said during a tearful speech in which he also apologized to his two young sons."

Mr. Hochfelder's attorneys sought a two- to six-year sentence, the article continued, "saying that he turned himself in and that psychiatric evaluations showed the crimes were caused by a combination of bipolar disorder and drug abuse. The defense read letters from Hochfelder's son, ex-wife and several victims in support of leniency, who argued that the sooner he emerges from incarceration, the sooner he'll be able to pay back the stolen funds."

Prosecutors, however, read a letter from Mr. "Hochfelder's brother-in-law who said 'to this day, Adam has declined to apologize to his family,' which is now locked in costly litigation over control of an apartment at 1025 Fifth Avenue that Hochfelder owned with his then-wife, Amy."

The 39-year-old Mr. "Hochfelder allegedly used the apartment as collateral for a $1.3 million loan from Arbor Commercial Mortgage. The lender required Mr. Hochfelder to provide written consent from his father-in-law - who lived in the apartment - and other family members, so Hochfelder forged their signatures, according to prosecutors. As a result of the transaction, the family now stands to lose the home," the article said.

The "co-founder and former chairman of commercial office building owner Max Capital Management," the article said, "was once the owner of Manhattan trophy properties including the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue, 237 Park Avenue and 450 West 33rd Street. But things went downhill for the Upper East Side resident after he bought out the firm from partner Richard Kalikow in 2002. Hochfelder resigned from his post at the company in 2004 amid increasing scrutiny from the DA's office and numerous lawsuits. In 2008, he was hit with a 58-charge indictment that charged him with stealing more than $17 million through a series of fraudulent loans from banks, friends, and family, and through a fictitious real estate venture over the five years following the buyout."

The article noted that "He was accused in a second indictment this February of stealing $2.5 million from investors for the purchase of the Sagamore Hotel on Lake George in upstate New York, and the Peaks Resort and Spa in Telluride, Colo., which he actually used to repay other creditors and go on spending sprees, according to the DA's office. He pleaded guilty in May."

An article in The New York Times today by Christine Haughney said that Mr. Hochfelder "embraced the trappings of success, often flying on private jets, and kept up an expensive cocaine habit that, his lawyer said, led him to agree to buy out Mr. Kalikow for $35 million, which he could not afford."