Embattled Ex-Hedge Funder Phil Falcone Sends New York Post Reporter Series of Deranged and Vulgar Texts
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Embattled former billionaire Phil Falcone sent a reporter a series of vulgar text messages after she published a story Tuesday about his plans to cash in on cryptocurrency.
Falcone is a hedge fund manager who made a fortune after he shorted the housing market before the Great Recession. In the years since he ran into serious financial troubles.
Lydia Moynihan, a business reporter with the New York Post, spoke to Falcone about a new venture for which he is seeking investors: a 24/7 TV network called Blockchain TV.
The network would devote 100% of its coverage to cryptocurrency.
Moynihan touched on the state of Falcone’s finances in the report. He has recently offloaded not only real estate, but also personal items, such as art and furniture, she noted.
She added Falcone is currently $100 million in debt and is being sued by the state of New York for back taxes.
The former billionaire offered Moynihan very little in the way of comment for her story, but he apparently had plenty to say to her after her report was published.
She shared screenshots of a series of vulgar messages he sent her on Twitter.
“You know what you are and it begins with a C,” Falcone apparently texted her, before spelling out a terrible word in several subsequent texts.
I’m sure the word he means is cordial! pic.twitter.com/eDw6Q53Sdb
— Lydia Moynihan (@LJMoynihan) May 18, 2022
In other unsolicited messages, Falcone called the reporter a “piece of shit,” and said her piece was “bullsht” akin to that of “a fcking idiot enquirer reporter.”
Love a good confidence boost pic.twitter.com/1zLmVnAeTO
— Lydia Moynihan (@LJMoynihan) May 18, 2022
“I’ve had enough of you people,” he also wrote. “And now it’s time. Two can play the same game.”
On Falcone’s Blockchain.TV, Moynihan reported:
The nascent network’s website is scant on details. The only description of the service says it is “Dedicated to the digital space, Blockchain.TV is launching in the third quarter of 2022, bringing breaking news, entertainment, and trending digital activity about Crypto, Web3, and the Metaverse.”
Moynihan noted Blockchain.TV might be a “tough sell,” given the currently struggling crypto market.
Mediaite spoke to Falcone, who said he has apologized to Moynihan.
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