This man was Jean François Darlan (7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942), a French admiral. Darlan was the head of the French Navy when France surrendered to Germany in 1940. He became an important minister in the Vichy French regime under Philippe Petain (Case Study 53). The Germans didn’t trust him as he made overtures to the allies and was forced to relinquish his posts but remained the head of the Vichy armed forces.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill didn’t trust Darlan either. Churchill demanded that Darlan bring the French fleet to ports in Britain but Darlan refused. He promised to keep them out of German hands but Churchill saw that this was impossible, particularly because of the Italian garrisons in Libya. Churchill ordered the British navy to sink the French ships if they would not surrender them to Royal Navy officers. On 3 July 1940 at Mers el-Kebir, the British made good on that threat.
When the US Navy brought troops to join the fight against the Axis forces in North Africa they were hoping the French forces would allow them to land. This proved a costly miscalculation; in Casablanca the French fired on the task force’s ships and resisted the troop landings.
General Dwight D Eisenhower also didn’t trust Darlan, but knew how to handle him. The General negotiated, making Darlan head of the French military forces and civilian government in all of Africa. Darlan ordered his troops to join the American and British forces as the Free French of Africa.
Darlan was assassinated by Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle on 24 December 1942. La Chapelle shot Darlan in his headquarters and he died a few hours later.
This man was Steven Hoffenberg (January 12, 1945 – August 2022). Hoffenberg was the founder and CEO of Tower Financial, a Ponzi scheme that cost him 18 years in prison. It cost investors $475 million. As a boy he had attempted theft of diamonds. Hoffenberg was a fraudster.
Hoffenberg was friends with Sir Douglas Leese, whom he claimed was an arms dealer. Technically Leese was – he handled a deal between BAE Systems and the Saudi government. It was through Leese that Hoffenberg met Jeffrey Epstein (Case Study 7). See “Was Epstein a Mossad Agent?” Leese was associated with Adnan Kashoggi who was complicit in the Iran Contra Affair. It’s interesting that Epstein (knowing his tactics to gain leverage) knew Leese while this was going on (Case Study 31). It’s also interesting that Leese introduced Epstein to a man who would pay him so much money.
Hoffenberg paid Epstein $25 thousand a month as a consultant for Tower Financial. The two worked together extensively. Epstein left the company before it’s collapse but Hoffenberg claims Epstein was intimately involved in it’s operation and illegal activities. Hoffenberg also claimed Epstein worked for Mossad. Because Hoffenberg was an American Jew this time, many people tend to believe him. Like most of his claims however, this one should be looked upon with suspicion.
Hoffenberg died in his apartment. His death was ruled to be of natural causes or possibly Covid.
