Exclusive | private equity bigwig shocks courtroom with alzheimer’s diagnosis during bombshell nyc divorce trial: ‘i’m a lowly business man’

A private equity CEO wrapped in a bruising divorce battle shocked a Manhattan courtroom this week when he suddenly announced he has Alzheimer’s disease — potentially opening him up to

regulator sanctions and shareholder lawsuits, experts said. John Foster, 83, managing partner of the $800 million private equity firm HealthPointCapital, made the stunning, unprompted

admission in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday as he testified in his divorce case against his estranged wife of 15 years Stephanie Foster, 57. “I’m a lowly business man,” said Foster, a

longtime health devices bigwig who spent much of his testimony claiming he couldn’t recall whether he had signed official documents. “I’m 83-years-old — I have recently had an MRI, which is

a brain scan for my Alzheimer’s,” he suddenly added, divulging a previously-undisclosed illness. Experts said the revelation from Foster could potentially have serious legal consequences

outside of his messy divorce.  EXPLORE MORE “That may be material information that has to be disclosed under federal law and SEC regulations,” said securities fraud trial lawyer, Michael P.

Bowen.  Foster — who is currently under a no-contact order due to “taunting” text messages he sent to his soon-to-be ex-wife last fall — also erupted in court Wednesday as he bemoaned the

hourly rates charged by her attorneys. “$40,000 a day for this bulls—t,” he said loudly, as the lawyers spoke with the judge at the bench.  His own apparently well-compensated lawyer, Linda

Rosenthal — who has previously claimed her client has “barely a positive net worth, if at all” — told him to zip it. During what was his second day on the stand this week, Foster repeatedly

answered “I don’t recall” in response to basic questions about if he remembered signing notarized documents, a statement of net worth, records of million-dollar deposits and his sworn

affidavit. After answering yes when pressed by his wife’s high-powered attorney Rita Glavin to confirm he had Alzheimer’s, he later tried to qualify by saying: “yes and I am being examined”

for the disease when he got his MRI a week earlier.  But when Glavin asked him to clarify an earlier statement about his diagnosis, Foster said he could not recall why he got an MRI, or what

he had previously said in his testimony.  Bowen, who is not involved in the Foster case, said that while there’s no clear line of when a duty to disclose is triggered, a diagnosis like

Alzheimer’s is one that could directly impact Foster’s fund. “An investor would want to know that information,” Bowen said, adding that the specifics are what matters in cases like this. “It

could lead to sanctions by the SEC, or to shareholder lawsuits,” he said, if Foster’s condition was not properly disclosed. Foster told the court Wednesday that his company placed him on

leave “several weeks ago” due to “other litigation not to do with this proceeding” — something he hadn’t disclosed during his testimony the prior day. Healthpoint Capital still lists Foster

as its first managing partner on their website. The company did not immediately respond to questions regarding Foster’s current status of employment or when he last signed investor

statements and other documentation on behalf of the firm. Glavin — who also reps ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the sexual harassment lawsuits he faces — peppered Foster about his wife’s claim that

he attempted to hide more than $6.3 million in income from her. Foster has previously claimed during the nearly four-year-long acrimonious separation that his wife’s spending has left him

destitute, but she claims to have discovered a text message that reveals a deliberate “net-worth strategy” to hide his true assets. When Glavin asked if he had been placed on leave because

of the allegations he used company accounts to hide personal income from a business deal, Foster immediately clammed up. “Judge, I think we should close for the day,” Foster said as he

placed a pair of hearing-aided headphones on his head that he only wore occasionally during the day. “I’m not up for it.” He then complained that his wife had too many lawyers, and he, too

few. “She has too many lawyers. It’s three verses four,” he riffed. At other points, Foster had his head buried in his hands, or was too busy scrolling on his smartphone to respond to

questions from Glavin as he sat in the witness stand. “Mr. Foster, can you please put your phone down for a moment?” Glavin requested repeatedly. “Do you think your testimony is important?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss,” he said from the witness stand. “Yes you are,” Glavin replied. “You are under a subpoena.”