Real Estate

A former real estate whiz was charged Monday with ripping off clients – including his best man – who thought they were investing in a Lake George hotel and a Telluride, Colo., resort.

Adam Hochfelder, who has blamed his problems on booze and cocaine addiction, is accused of using the $2.5 million to pay for his kids’ education, a driver and flights on a private plane.

“The defendant systematically defrauded his friends, family and business associates out of millions of dollars through phony real estate deals, repeatedly abusing the trust of those who believed he was an upstanding businessman,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.

The indictment charging Hochfelder, 38, with grand larceny follows one from August 2008 in which he was accused of stealing $17 million from banks, friends and family using bogus business deals.

“It’s really nothing new,” said defense attorney Marc Agnifilo. “He always intended to pay them back, and he’s paid back a total of $15 million.”

Assistant District Attorney Tanya Apparicio said Hochfelder showed “arrogance and entitlement” in ripping off investors, who included his best man.

“The facts of this case speak volumes to this defendant’s character,” Apparicio said.

Hochfelder, the former head of Max Capital Management Corp., controlled 8 million square feet of office space before he had turned 35.

A former part owner of the Helmsley Building, he turned down a plea deal almost three months before the latest allegations were leveled.

Prosecutors say investors thought they were getting in on an ownership bid for the historic Sagamore Resort in Lake George and The Peaks Resort in Telluride, Colo.

Instead, they were financing Hochfelder’s fancy lifestyle, Vance said.

Hochfelder, who completed rehab and underwent surgery to repair his coke-ravaged nose a couple of years ago, was released on $1 million bail.

Agnifilo said the former commercial real estate wunderkind is practically penniless, and his entire defense has been financed by his dad, a former garment manufacturer.

“The Adam Hochfelder of today is a broke Adam Hochfelder,” Agnifilo said.

jmartinez@edit.nydailynews.com