U.S. criminal authorities are probing whether Corey Ribotsky, Managing Member of NIR Group, a Roslyn, New York hedge-fund, defrauded investors about their returns and the holdings of his various funds, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The people told the paper that prosecutors from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn are looking at whether Ribotsky lied to investors as stock prices fell during the credit crisis.

The paper said the authorities have not accused Ribotsky of wrongdoing.

Ribiotsky has said he has $770 million under management, according to the paper.

Ribotsky's lawyer declined to comment to the paper, saying the hedge fund manager and NIR have no knowledge of any criminal investigation and have not been contacted by any authorities.

Spokesmen for the SEC, FBI and U.S. attorney's office declined to comment to the paper.

U.S. authorities could not be reached for comment by Reuters outside normal business hours, while a spokesman for NIR in Singapore was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

New York Investment