By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Sahm Adrangi, who has a large following on Wall Street after making a number of public bets against telecom companies, was arrested for impaired driving after crashing his car in the Hamptons during the weekend, police said on Monday.
Adrangi, 35, was charged with driving under the influence, East Hampton police said. He was driving on Montauk Highway early Saturday morning when his 2015 BMW convertible collided with another vehicle, injuring the driver. Police found cocaine in Adrangi's car.
Adrangi declined to comment on the record on Monday.
Adrangi runs $350 million Kerrisdale Capital Management, which is best known for its 200 percent return five years ago. While the fund is relatively small, Adrangi and Kerrisdale are active on Twitter and well known on Wall Street for bold bets.
Earlier this year Kerrisdale took a short position against direct broadcast service provider DISH Network Co., a bet that has not worked so far and helped put the firm on track to post its first ever losing year.
Adrangi deferred his arraignment until his next court appearance early next month and posted $1,000 bail.
Hedge fund managers have long spent summer weekends in the Hamptons, a string of oceanside communities on Long Island's South Fork that have become even more popular this year after being featured in "Billions" a U.S. television series, that plays into the industry's negative stereotypes, including risky investing and conspicuous consumption.
Kerrisdale made a splash right from the start, delivering double-digit returns ever since its launch in 2009. In 2011, the fund returned 201.2 percent. This year has been tougher however and Adrangi told investors that his fund is down 8 percent through the end of July.
(Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Bill Trott)