27 Jul 2001
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000060878jul26.story
Slatkin Half a Billion Short, Court Trustee's Report Says Law:
By LIZ PULLIAM WESTON, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Fallen money manager Reed E. Slatkin owes investors and other creditors
$576 million but apparently has assets of less than $45 million,
according to a report filed by a court-appointed trustee in Santa
Barbara this week.
The first official accounting of Slatkin's finances is probably
incomplete because the unregistered money manager cooperated only
intermittently in identifying his assets and debts, trustee R. Todd
Neilson, a forensic accountant, said in the report.
Neilson's report was in line with earlier estimates by bankruptcy
officials of how much money Slatkin owed investors. Bankruptcy officials
believe Slatkin managed money on behalf of as many as 850 investors,
including Hollywood celebrities, Internet executives and socialites from
around the country. Slatkin is under criminal investigation for
investment fraud. According to the trustee's reports, Slatkin's assets
include more than $12 million in loans made to some of his investors and
associates, including $835,200 to fellow EarthLink co-founder Kevin
O'Donnell, $1 million to investor Anthony Podell and $1.1 million to
Santa Barbara resident Denise Del Bianco.
In the three months before he filed for bankruptcy, Slatkin paid out
more than $26 million to investors, creditors and vendors--including $3
million to his own relatives, according to the report.
Slatkin also donated more than $200,000 to various Scientology causes in
the year before his bankruptcy. He also gave $257,000 to Santa Barbara
charities, including $224,000 to the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation,
which raises funds for a local entertainment venue.
Neilson said Slatkin did not file a tax return for 2000, but his 1999
return showed income of $29.1 million, including $12.7 million of
taxable investment gains.
Slatkin is scheduled to face his creditors for the first time at a
Bankruptcy Court hearing Monday in Santa Barbara.
Slatkin's attorneys and a creditors' committee had said they had
identified about $30 million of assets, including brokerage accounts and
his home in Santa Barbara's pricey Hope Ranch area. Neilson identified
dozens of limited partnerships and other ventures that Slatkin invested
in, but said the value of those assets is still unknown.
[end]
Return to The Reverend Reed Slatkin main index page
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main index page.
Money manager to the stars has assets of $45 million, owes $576 million,
according to first official accounting.
The views and opinions stated within this web page are those of the author
or authors which copyrighted and wrote them and may not reflect the views
and opinions of the ISP or account user which hosts the web page. The
opinions may or may not be those of the Chairman of The Skeptic Tank. The
term "Scientology"® is trademarked to the Scientology crime
syndicate. This information is provided in Fair Use for the public safety
in the hopes that others don't fall for Scientology's related frauds.