shueman
Libra
HDF Gold Supporter
Born To Drive...
   
Alta Loma CA
Posts: 17,228
APPD 2.15
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NADA
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Posted: May 12 2006,8:48 am |
Post # 1 |
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Why is this man smiling.... 
If Lance Poulsen is worried about a criminal investigation into the disappearance of billions of dollars at his failed former company, it’s difficult to tell by the smile he has on his yacht.
Poulsen, once the chief executive of National Century Financial Enterprises, was featured recently in a print advertisement in boating magazines for navigational devices installed on his new Sea Ray 60 Sundancer.
The yacht retails for $1.7 million or more.
The former National Century chief executive is a prime subject of an ongoing criminal probe into the conditions that caused the Dublin-based health-care-financing company to collapse in 2002, according to court documents. He has not been charged, but sources close to the investigation say the inquiry is winding down.
However, he’s been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which seeks to recover any profit from his role in an alleged scheme to defraud National Century investors of $2.6 billion.
Poulsen, 62, could not be reached for comment, but one of his attorneys, Thomas Tyack, said his client has been "very aggressive" in maintaining he was not involved in the failure.
The former CEO has blamed the company’s problems on actions taken by banks and investment companies.
The ad featuring Poulsen promotes the Sea Ray Navigator, a device manufactured by Maptech Inc. It includes a photograph of a grinning, windblown Poulsen on his yacht.
In the ad, Poulsen says he and his wife, Barbara, are putting two of the $20,000 navigational devices in their Sundancer, a 61-foot yacht that has three staterooms, a sunroom, teak flooring and state-of-the-art entertainment center.
"Barbara likes to check radar and overlay it on navigational photos or watch live weather," according to the text quoting Poulsen. "I like to plan our cruises."
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Gordon Lockhart declined to comment on the ad, but sources close to the office say prosecutors are aware of it.
Appearing publicly as a yachtsman steering an expensive boat might not be a great legal tactic, according to some defense lawyers.
"It’s pretty evident that you don’t want your client to show he’s living an extravagantly expensive lifestyle," said Paul Skendelas, immediate past president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. "It’s an image thing."
So far, three lower-level National Century executives have pleaded guilty to criminal counts related to securities fraud and agreed to testify against higher-level officials.
Court documents filed in those criminal cases indicate the government has its eye on Poulsen and his fellow National Century co-founders and coowners, Donald Ayers and Rebecca Parrett.
The SEC sued Poulsen, Ayers, Parrett and another executive, Randolph Speer, the former CFO, in connection with the alleged fraud at the company. The government wants the officials to pay back any money they earned from the scheme.
National Century’s failure forced about 275 health-care providers in more than a dozen states to file for bankruptcy protection. The company itself was liquidated in one of the nation’s most complicated bankruptcy cases.
Being in the crosshairs of the SEC and U.S. attorney’s office usually causes people to lay low. But not Poulsen.
The ad featuring him appeared in MarineMax Lifestyles and Sea Ray Living, which cater to boating enthusiasts. His new yacht replaces one that was damaged during a hurricane that hit Florida in 2004.
Maptech contacted Poulsen to be part of the company’s advertising campaign, which features people who purchased its products, said Martin Fox, a company spokesman.
He was not aware of Poulsen’s legal difficulties, but said Maptech officials know and like him.
The National Century case has spawned other lawsuits. In one, JPMorgan Chase & Co., a trustee for several National Century trusts, has agreed to pay $425 million to the company’s creditors.
Probably buddies with those Enron dudes.... 
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