Business

HEDGE DUO IN FOR $$

Rising hedge-fund star Paul Touradji has stiffed a pair of employees at his highflying Touradji Capital Management of nearly $50 million in bonuses, according to a lawsuit filed late yesterday.

According to the suit which was filed with the State Supreme Court and obtained by The Post, Touradji bullied portfolio managers Gentry Beach and Robert Vollero and ultimately refused to pay their bonuses for nearly three years of work. Vollero and Beach are owed around $23 million each.

Beach, a former Morgan Stanley banker, and Vollero joined the firm in 2005.

The duo kicked off relative-value equity energy fund DeepRock Partners and also managed Touradji OG, which generated profits of nearly $100 million in 2005 alone.

Since hanging his own shingle, Touradji – a so-called Tiger Cub who worked at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management – has established a solid reputation for outperforming peers. He can also claim relative success in recent months, when many rivals have been mauled by credit losses and hemorrhaging cash.

After starting out on good terms, Beach and Vollero’s time at Touradji’s firm turned contentious after the boss began withholding bonuses for no apparent reason, the lawsuit claims.

At first, he intermittently deferred the payments before, promising to send the owed money, before he eventually refused to pay them altogether, according to the suit.

During one heated exchange at Touradji’s Park Avenue offices, the suit claims, Touradji threatened Beach warning, “I will destroy you and your career no matter what the cost.”

Beach, who has ties with the Trump family and is godfather to Donald Trump Jr.’s child, resigned in late September.

Although Vollero is still employed by the hedge fund, he’s expected to resign, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for Touradji declined to comment; calls to Volero’s cell phone were not returned and Beach also declined to comment.

Legal wrangling appears to be nothing new to the firm. About four years ago, a fund co-founded by Catequil Asset Management imploded amid accusations by Touradji’s one-time business partner, Richard Ellis, that Touradji had misappropriated almost $1 million from the hedge fund.

That suit has since been settled, with terms left undisclosed.

What’s more, in a family twist, Gentry Beach’s father, Gary, has filed a lawsuit in Texas against Touradji, claiming the hedge honcho reneged on separate contractual agreements.

Gentry Beach also filed a report with New York City police, saying Touradji had threatened to destroy him and his family if he crossed him, the suit claims.

Meanwhile, 20-year trading veteran Ben Bram, who was hired from Goldman Sachs to much fanfare, recently quit Touradji’s shop, according to a source. The reason for his departure could not be learned.

mark.decambre@nypost.com