The ex-wife of hedge fund honcho Steve Cohen is turning up the heat in her bitter legal battle with her former husband.
Patricia Cohen is talking with trial lawyers about taking on her case after a New York appeals court revived her lawsuit accusing her ex of cheating her out of millions during their divorce more than two decades ago, The Post has learned.
No decisions have been made, but she is “evaluating how to go forward,” said a person close to the case.
Patricia claims that her billionaire ex — whose wealth is estimated at nearly $9 billion — hid $5.5 million he received in a settlement over a soured $8.7 million real-estate deal during their divorce proceedings. She is seeking damages of $8.25 million.
She also claimed that Cohen, founder of $14 billion hedge-fund firm SAC Capital Advisors, engaged in insider trading and racketeering.
Her suit was tossed by a Manhattan federal judge in 2011 on the grounds that the statute of limitations had passed. But the appeals court ruled that the clock only started ticking five years ago when she first learned of the alleged deceit.
“These decades-old allegations by Mr. Cohen’s former spouse were patently false and entirely without merit. We will continue to defend against them vigorously,” said a spokesman for SAC’s Cohen.
The next step in the case is discovery, which will determine whether there is enough evidence for the suit to proceed to trial.
It’s unclear whether Patricia’s current lawyer, Howard Foster, who specializes in racketeering laws, will remain on the case if a trial lawyer is hired. He was given the option to stay on, a source said. Foster is Patricia’s third lawyer since she first kicked off the case in 2009.