(CN) - At a brief hearing on Monday, New York attorney Harvey Newkirk pleaded not guilty to charges that he helped Calvin Darden Jr. defraud Maxim magazine investors.
Prosecutors believe that Newkirk crossed ethical and legal boundaries in advising Darden, who copped late last year to impersonating his father to trick lenders into financing more than $8 million on a supposed acquisition of the lad mag.
Darden's father, a former United Parcel Service executive, acquired Maxim in September 2013.
Denying the allegations on April 3, Newkirk's lawyer Priya Chaudry defended her client as a "brilliant and well-respected attorney with an unblemished reputation."
"He has done nothing wrong and we look forward to challenging the government's overreaching and baseless allegations," she added at the time.
Newkirk formally entered his plea in minutes-long proceedings dedicated mainly to scheduling discovery matters.
When asked by the defense for three months to review the evidence, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said, "No way."
Setting a fast pace, Rakoff ordered the completion of discovery by May 4.
The parties will have to file motions by June 4 and attend a conference that month.
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