NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — New York money manager Guy de Chimay, who claims to be related to royalty in Belgium and falsely claimed to have millions in a Bermuda bank account, pleaded not guilty to charges that he stole millions of dollars in client funds.

Chimay, 47, chairman and chief investment officer of Chimay Capital Management Inc., appeared in New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan after being extradited from North Carolina, where he was arrested June 11 on a New York warrant, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

"Chimay perpetrated a large-scale fraud on trusting investors," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in a statement. "His scheme involved all manner of deceit — he lied about who he was, how he was managing his clients' finances, and he even forged bank documents to back up his bogus story."

Chimay was charged with grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument and a felony violation of general business law. If convicted of the top count of grand larceny, he faces as much as 25 years in prison.

He's accused of running a Ponzi scheme that stole almost $7 million from several victims, according to the district attorney's office. Chimay used the money to pay credit card bills, his summer rental home in the Hamptons section of Long Island, his mortgage, car payments, a redeeming investor in his hedge fund and other investors.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Aaron Wolfson asked New York state Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro to order Chimay to be held without bail, and Carro agreed.

"He denies any fraud," Chimay's attorney David Liebman told the judge, asking him to set bail at about $400,000.

"This appears to be an extensive theft of over $7 million," Carro said. "You recovered a computer that had forged documents on it," he told prosecutors. Chimay "appears to have the ability to create false documents", the judge said. "I'm not sure any bail would ensure his return to face these charges."

Carro scheduled the state case for August 4. Lawyers for the US Securities and Exchange Commission served him with subpoenas for a deposition and hearing on July 16 in the Southern District of New York.

"At this point we're aware of $7 million," Wolfson told the judge. "There are people out there who are currently destitute because of the lies and deceit of this defendant."

Wolfson also said in court that de Chimay attempted to steal $15 million from a major New York financial institution, without naming the institution.

Wolfson also said the D.A.'s office was "pursuing an investigating into his hedge fund activities".

In asking for Chimay to be remanded, Wolfson said it was "unclear as to how to get in touch with him". He said Chimay has no permanent address in the New York area, that he moved out of his home on 37th Street in Manhattan in January with no forwarding address, and that he gave the 37th Street address to his civil attorney though he doesn't live there. Chimay has dual US and Canadian citizenship.

There are several civil cases against Chimay in the Southern District of New York, and attorneys have had trouble serving him, Wolfson said.

Chimay waived extradition on June 21 and was returned to New York on June 29.

The SEC separately sued Chimay June 11, alleging he and his firm touted investments he claimed were tied to the Chimay royal family of Belgium and that he stole millions to help pay for his divorce. The SEC also obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of Chimay and his firm.

Chimay Capital claimed to be the US investment arm of the royal family based in the Chimay region of Belgium and dating to the 14th century, according to the SEC.

Chimay solicited money from October 2008 to September 2009 for a bridge facility that he said would make lucrative short- term loans to firms with ties to the Belgian royal family, the SEC said in its complaint. There is no evidence that any loans were made and some funds were used to pay off disgruntled investors in Chimay's other business ventures, the agency said.

In December, Chimay sought a multimillion dollar loan, falsely claiming he had $14 million in liquid assets in a Bermuda bank account to serve as collateral, the SEC said. In reality, the account was empty, the agency said.