A Manhattan Supreme Court justice ruled Monday that a fraud case filed by Kasowitz Benson Torres in August can move forward, denying a motion to dismiss on key claims against Cardinal Equity LLC, a merchant cash advance syndication venture.

Kasowitz partner Jed Bergman represents a group of plaintiffs who had invested in Cardinal and who allege that the venture and its managing partner fabricated data and inflated its success.

The investors are seeking at least $10 million in damages, according to court papers. Bergman argued that millions of dollars in losses were hidden from the plaintiffs, who were repeatedly told that their investments were profitable.

New York County Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen granted the defendants' motion to dismiss several claims, but he allowed several claims to move forward, including fraudulent inducement and breach-of-contract claims against Cardinal and a fraud claim against managing partner Arty Bujan.

Bergman described the ruling as a "big win" for the investors.

"Justice Cohen's thorough decision accurately explains how Cardinal and Bujan 'lured' plaintiffs into investing millions of dollars in their merchant cash advance business and then 'withheld and manipulated information' about the investment," Bergman said in a statement. "We look forward to recovering the significant damages that our clients have suffered."

Bujan and Cardinal were previously represented by attorneys at Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole, but a motion to withdraw as counsel is currently pending before Cohen. The attorneys withdrew because they were owed more than $40,000 in legal fees, according to their motion.

Bujan did not return a request for comment left at the Cardinal offices Wednesday.

Cohen also dismissed all claims against a third defendant, who had allegedly been a corporate officer of Cardinal.