Former NY Fund Manager Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges

Mr. Nicholson, the former president and sole managing member of money-management firm Westgate Capital Management LLC, pleaded guilty to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud and mail fraud at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan in Manhattan on Friday.

"I stand before you a man who is greatly ashamed," Mr. Nicholson said. "Words cannot explain how sorry I am. I take full responsibility."

Mr. Nicholson, of Saddle River, N.J., faces up to 20 years in prison on securities fraud and mail fraud charges.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan have alleged the scheme, which began in 2004, fell apart last December after a number of investors sought to redeem their investments following the arrest of convicted Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff.

Checks to nearly two dozen investors totaling $5 million bounced in December, prosecutors said.