The financial fallout from the alleged real estate Ponzi scheme involving indicted Sonoma magnate Ken Mattson is shifting focus to his longtime business partner, Tim LeFever.
The Press Democrat reports a judge has ordered mediation between LeFever and the unsecured creditors committee in the bankruptcy cases. Investors believe LeFever, despite claiming to be a victim, was negligent or possibly complicit in the scheme. The creditors committee is now investigating him and intends to sue him to prevent him from receiving any payout.
LeFever has filed his own claims, but the creditors plan to seek “equitable subordination” to push his claims to the very bottom.
Meanwhile, Mattson is fighting to sell a property to fund his legal defense, while a court-appointed neutral party is demanding his attorney return a $500,000 retainer allegedly paid from company funds.
