The unraveling of a California real estate empire has taken a stunning new turn as investigators follow a multi-million dollar paper trail.
The Press Democrat reports in the latest development of the LeFever Mattson bankruptcy case, a judge has authorized a subpoena for Kathleen Hamlin, the 83-year-old mother-in-law of company co-founder Tim LeFever. The unsecured creditors committee, representing over 600 investors, alleges that the company transferred more than $2.4 million to Hamlin—including $1.6 million in the single year leading up to the bankruptcy filing.
Hamlin is now being identified as a “litigation target.” Investigators are seeking documents linked to various entities, including the Laurel Wreath Foundation, a nonprofit run out of the LeFever home that reported over $1 million in investment income last year.
While co-founder Ken Mattson currently faces federal charges for an alleged 15-year Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of tens of millions, Tim LeFever has not been charged and maintains he was also a victim of Mattson’s fraud. However, attorneys for the creditors remain skeptical, moving to push LeFever’s own financial claims to the “bottom of the ladder.”
Hamlin has until January 9th to produce the requested documents and is scheduled to provide oral testimony by the end of next month.