Co-chair of the Clinton Global Initiative charged with felonies, arrest warrant issued

An attorney who was a co-chair of the Clinton Global Initiative has been charged with felonies, and the Denver District Attorney’s office has issued an arrest warrant for him.

Steve Bachar is accused of securities fraud and theft. According to the Denver Post, he is accused of stealing between $100,000 and $1 million and lying to an investor in a criminal complaint.

The new warrant says the alleged crimes took place between Oct. 13, 2017, and Aug. 8, 2018.

“Steven Charles Bachar, in connection with the offer, sale or purchase of a security, directly or indirectly, unlawfully, feloniously and willfully made an untrue statement of material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made … not misleading,” states the complaint obtained by the Post.

In a statement, Bachar said: “These are outrageous, unfounded, and false accusations. I am pleased that we are now engaged in a process that will let the facts come to light.”

Bachar is currently under investigation by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which oversees attorney discipline in Colorado.

The Washington Free Beacon reported:

Authorities in Denver have ordered the arrest of Steve Bachar, a longtime Clinton operative and “socially responsible” investor who has been charged with felony theft and securities fraud. The former co-chair of the Clinton Global Initiative is also under investigation for unrelated allegations that he mishandled millions of dollars allocated for personal protective equipment at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.Advertisement

Bachar is accused of stealing as much as $1 million and lying to an investor “in connection with the offer, sale or purchase of a security,” according to the criminal complaint filed by the Denver district attorney’s office. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between October 2017 and August 2018. The former Clinton operative told the Denver Post the criminal charges were “outrageous, unfounded, and false,” and he looks forward to letting “the facts come to light.”

Who is Steve Bachar?

Steve Bachar worked with the advance team of Bill Clinton and once boasted that he was “joined at the hip” with him.

Bachar also worked for the Treasury Department.

He was part of the national finance committee for the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.

For Steve Bachar, the Washington Free Beacon added:

Bachar, who served as White House advance lead and in the Treasury Department under former president Bill Clinton before joining the Clinton Global Initiative, also served on the national finance committee for Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign in 2016 and as an adviser to former governor John Hickenlooper (D., Colo.). His private sector career as a corporate attorney and cofounder of Empowerment Capital Management was focused on “socially responsible investing.”

According to a lawsuit filed by a Denver-based health care company, Bachar agreed to sell them 4,200 cases of N95 masks for $2.4 million in April 2020 but never delivered the masks and did not return their initial payment of $604,000. Over the summer, Bachar was ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million to the companies he allegedly defrauded but has yet to comply with the civil judgments against him.

From the Linkedin profile about Steve Bachar:

Steve is a partner in Empowerment Capital which advises and invests in revenue generating early stage companies with positive social impact. He is also a problem-solving attorney and advisor for select clients.

His skill sets include legal strategy and management, long term strategic planning, public policy, communications, and crisis management. He directly advises CEOs, boards of directors, and elected officials. Before relocating to Denver, Steve’s Washington, D.C. career included service in the White House and the US Department of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.