Moshe Lax

Moshe Lax
Known forCo-founder of Dynamic Diamonds
SpouseShaindy Lax
ParentChaim Lax

Moshe Lax is an American businessman from New York, known for his business association with Ivanka Trump.

Personal life and education

Lax grew up in Brooklyn[1] as the only son of the noted diamond dealer, real estate developer, and philanthropist Chaim Lax[2] who partnered with Brooklyn developer Isaac Hager in gentrifying Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[3] He attended local Hasidic schools and the religious school (yeshiva) of Rabbi Shaul Brus.[2]

After his marriage to Shaindy Lax,[1] he ended his religious studies (kollel)[2] to found the Dynamic Diamonds Corp., a diamond sales business, together with his father.[4] He resides in a mansion in Riverdale with his wife.[1]

Business career

When his father died in 2008, Lax inherited his vast debts.[1] Lax was sued by the estate's creditors, who alleged in court that Lax had used shell companies to hide the estate's assets, and that he attempted to extort them and other members of the Orthodox Jewish community into giving up on the debts.[1] The lawsuit was eventually settled.[1] Lax was also the subject of several other lawsuits, many of which regarded unpaid debts and legal fees.[1]

In 2017, Lax opened a two-story fashion gallery on Fifth Avenue in New York.[4] The opening was attended by Tiffany Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lax's landlord Eliot Spitzer.[1]

In August 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Lax for the payment of $60 million worth of taxes. The DOJ alleged that Lax, his father and his sister Zlaty Schwartz conducted complex fake transactions in order to fraudulently evade taxes.[5]

Lax was initially a business partner with Ivanka Trump, helping her with the licensing of her name in the jewelry industry. They opened a store together in 2007. Lax then became close friends with Ivanka and her family, even attending Donald Trump's election victory party and inauguration. Despite some financial and legal issues, their business relationship continued until 2017, with Lax holding the position of chairman for Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry. Ivanka also owned a portion of Lax's company at one point.[6][1][5]

Academia

Moshe Lax is a Talmudic scholar of Jewish law and philosophy and has published a two-volume book titled "Derech Nesher".[7][8]

Lax co-authored with Hillel E. Broder, PhD, "If I am here, then all is here: Towards a Phenomenological Existentialism in the Rabbinic Law of Beit Hillel".[9] He also co-authored and published research on the self with neuropsychologist Stan Klein, UC Santa Barbara.[10]

Art

Moshe published an album in collaboration with Ami Magazine titled "AMI" featuring Yaakov Lemmer.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schreckinger, Ben (27 August 2017). "The Trouble With Ivanka's Business Partner". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Besser, Yisroel (5 April 2017). "Polish Your Diamond". Mishpacha. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  3. ^ Mairer, Mark; Small, Eddie (May 1, 2018). "Isaac Hager's higher power - The developer is gaining outer borough market share, despite a trail of foreclosures and lawsuits from his early real estate days". The Real Deal.
  4. ^ a b "Fifth Avenue Diamond Gallery Set to Open". Diamonds.net. Rapaport News. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b Schreckinger, Ben (17 August 2018). "DOJ Sues Ivanka's Ex-Business Partner for Massive Fraud". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  6. ^ Abrams, Rachel (13 March 2017). "Ivanka Trump to End Fine Jewelry Line in Favor of Mass-Market One". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. ^ HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: דרך נשר - כרך ב -- משה לאקס. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  8. ^ "דרך נשר חא - לאקס, משה אריה לייב (Page 5 of 481)".
  9. ^ Broder, Hillel; Lax, Moshe (Summer 2017). ""If I am here, then all is here": Towards a Phenomenological Existentialism in the Rabbinic Law of Beit Hillel" (PDF). Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought: 135–160. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  10. ^ Klein, SB; Lax, ML (November 2010). "The unanticipated resilience of trait self-knowledge in the face of neural damage". Memory (Hove, England). 18 (8): 918–48. doi:10.1080/09658211.2010.524651. PMID 21108109. S2CID 31848416.
  11. ^ "Ami Magazine presents: BIG VOICES – Featuring Lipa Schmeltzer, Yanky Lemmer, Shim Craimer & Moshe Waldner | Jewish Insights". Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  12. ^ "JTopBlogger's Review of Lipa Schmeltzer: Leap of Faith". Jewish Music Report. Retrieved 25 September 2019.