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San Francisco Chronicle
7 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Judge agrees to release jailed Sonoma developer Kenneth Mattson
A federal judge in San Francisco allowed a prominent Sonoma developer facing fraud charges to be released from custody after setting his bail at $4 million Wednesday. Kenneth Mattson was arrested last week after prosecutors accused him of orchestrating a protracted Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly siphoned millions of dollars from investors in his real estate companies. After a five-hour hearing in which multiple people who said they were defrauded described the desperation, grief and shame of losing their life savings after investing with Mattson, Magistrate Judge Alex Tse agreed to release the embattled developer on the condition that he avoid unnecessary travel, wear a GPS monitor and avoid any large financial transactions, among other conditions. Many of Mattson's former clients had hoped that Tse would order Mattson held in custody until his trial. At the beginning of the hearing, they described the fear and pain they had gone through learning that their retirement savings had essentially disappeared. More than 70 people attended the hearing — forcing courthouse officials to move the proceeding to a larger courtroom on the 19th floor of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. One woman said she and her relatives, including her husband's family and her sister, had invested with Mattson for almost three decades. The stress of the past year had been so severe, she said, in tears, that her sister tried to take her own life. 'My sister almost died over this,' she said, addressing Mattson directly. 'For that I will never forgive you.' Mattson, dressed in a black T-Shirt over a green jumpsuit, showed no emotion as she or others spoke. Others described having to visit food banks to be able to eat, and the shame and anxiety of discovering their life savings, their retirements, their IRAs, were all gone. 'The lives we planned for and diligently worked toward were taken away by Ken Mattson,' said Mike Morse, an investment banker who told the court he invested $2.6 million with Mattson. He described Mattson's behavior as a kind of 'financial murder.' Another woman, Gwen Piercy, spoke about meeting Mattson more than 40 years ago, when her parents introduced her to him. Last year, as Mattson's alleged fraud came to light, the monthly checks she received vaporized. The physical strain of the ordeal caused her hair to fall out, she said, and friends deserted her, worrying she would ask them for money. Now, she goes to a local food bank so that she has enough to eat. 'This is not only financial abuse but senior abuse,' she said, drawing applause from those in the audience. Another woman, who identified herself only by her first name, Denise, said she and her family loved Mattson 'with all our hearts.' He had been so close to their family that after her father died last year, Mattson served as a pallbearer at his funeral. They'd stood by him even after the fraud allegations emerged last year. But their support soon turned to a sense of betrayal when, one month after the funeral, Mattson stopped sending regular investment checks to her mother, who was struggling with a serious autoimmune disease. 'Thank God my dad had already passed away,' the woman said. 'If this hadn't killed him, it would have broken his heart.' The detention hearing on Wednesday came after Mattson's stunning arrest last week at a Napa gym. Prosecutors and his defense attorneys sparred for hours over many basic facts of the case, before Judge Tse agreed to allow Mattson to be released into the custody of his wife, Stacy Mattson, to live in their home in Sonoma on Castle Road. Prosecutors believe that Mattson committed widespread fraud; but during the hearing, Mattson's attorneys presented a hint of their likely defense — arguing that Mattson's clients were still receiving payments last year until Mattson's business partner, Timothy LeFever, shut him out of the real estate development business they owned, LeFever Mattson. Mattson attorney William Frentzen predicted that Mattson's clients' 'mistrust and anger are going to find a different target as this case plays out.' Mattson attorney William Frentzen also argued that government prosecutors had charged the developer with obstruction of justice, without evidence, and in an unguarded moment in court, acknowledged that federal investigators had also targeted — but ultimately did not indict — KSMP, another business entity that Mattson owns with his wife, Stacy Mattson. The admission startled Tse, who asked 'Did you really want that out in public?' Prosecutors had asked Tse not to release Mattson from custody. Ultimately, Tse agreed to allow Mattson to be released after he and his relatives posted $4 million bail, secured with $200,000 in cash, and two homes as collateral — one owned by Stacy Mattson in Piedmont, and another by her sister in Nevada. The judge also ordered Mattson to submit to GPS monitoring, to transfer ownership of three firearms he owned (but no longer held in his possession) to a relative, to report all financial transactions of more than $5,000 to pretrial services, and not to solicit or make any new investments of any kind. Tse also ordered him to surrender his passports and not to harass any witnesses, jurors, victims or other court officers related to the case. Over decades, Mattson and LeFever amassed a real estate investment portfolio worth an estimated $413 million, including a $146 million stronghold of businesses and residential properties in the Wine Country town of Sonoma. Mattson split his time between several multimillion dollar houses — a nearly $10 million mansion in Piedmont and a Sonoma estate — and drove classic cars including a Rolls Royce. Just over one year ago, Mattson's real estate empire began to crumble. LeFever accused Mattson of stealing money from clients and their businesses in an email to their clients and said he had informed the U.S. Attorney's Office and Securities and Exchange Commission of his suspicions. Federal officials said Mattson took at least $28 million from investors for 'off-books' investments in two of his investment companies and breached his fiduciary responsibility to LeFever Mattson, the company he and LeFever ran together. Mattson's scheme 'collapsed' when Mattson 'was no longer able to raise new investor money to pay existing investors,' prosecutors said. Mattson's attorneys, in a court filing ahead of Wednesday's hearing, pushed back against the government's claims that 'his alleged substantial financial means' made him a flight risk. They argued that Mattson had remained in Sonoma once the investigation began and had been cooperative. They claimed that some of the $9,000 in cash federal agents seized during Mattson's arrest had come from monthly rent he'd collected from tenants. Mattson's attorneys pointed to tax documents and business records that reportedly show that more money 'flowing' into business accounts 'than flowing out,' which would make it 'the first Ponzi scheme in history to cost the perpetrator far more than he stole from others.' Prosecutors' effort to keep Mattson in custody was based on 'the thinnest of pretexts and predicated on misunderstandings of fact,' the attorneys said. In response, the government challenged many of Mattson's assertions, arguing that the evidence Mattson presented was misleading and that their investigation revealed he was taking millions of dollars from a key business account 'to pay for mortgages on his personal properties and other personal expenses.' Prosecutors told the judge they were 'deeply concerned' that Mattson and his wife had refused 'to provide any financial information' to the court, which is a standard requirement. The charges included seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of obstruction of justice for destroying records in a federal investigation. If Mattson is convicted, he faces a likely prison sentence of more than 15 years in prison. Mattson also faces additional sanctions from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a related civil enforcement action against Mattson and one of his companies, and several lawsuits from investors.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Feds arrest embattled Sonoma developer suspected of ‘Ponzi scheme' that cost investors millions
Federal authorities Thursday accused embattled Sonoma real estate developer Kenneth Mattson of engaging in 'a classic Ponzi scheme' that stole tens of millions of dollars from hundreds of retirees and others who had entrusted him with their life savings. In a 22-page indictment, federal prosecutors charged Mattson with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of obstruction of justice for destroying records in a federal investigation. The arrest comes one year after Mattson's longtime business partner, Timothy LeFever, accused him of bilking their company and clients in a scheme that apparently went undetected for years. Mattson denied those claims. Using money they solicited from hundreds of investors, Mattson and LeFever amassed a large real estate portfolio in and around the city of Sonoma, and snapped up well-known and historic properties and businesses. Federal prosecutors said that Mattson presented the investments as 'legitimate and safe interests of limited partnerships that owned real estate,' but instead created fake documents and took the money. According to federal prosecutors, Mattson took at least $28 million from investors for 'off-books' investments in two of his investment companies 'Instead of delivering the investment returns he promised, Mr. Mattson is charged with cheating these investors out of their hard-earned money and, in many cases, out of their life savings,' said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins in a statement. 'Mr. Mattson will now be held to account on charges of perpetrating a scheme that he kept afloat only by using new investors' money to pay obligations to earlier investors.' The crimes carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud and obstruction charge and 10 years for the charge of money laundering. Mattson was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday. This is a developing story, check for updates.
San Francisco Chronicle
15-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
It sat vacant for years. Will this famed Wine Country estate finally get its second chance?
It was once among Sonoma's most popular wineries. Yet the former home of California Zinfandel pioneer Ravenswood has been vacant for years, one of the dozens of casualties of embattled real estate developer Kenneth Mattson, who was investigated by the FBI and accused of defrauding investors in 2024. But earlier this year, wine conglomerate Gallo resurrected the famed Ravenswood brand after a five-year hiatus — and now, the derelict winery has a shot at renewal, too. The 23-acre estate at 18701 Gehricke Road in Sonoma is back on the market, listed at $5.3 million. Located just over a mile from the Sonoma Plaza, the property includes the stone Ravenswood production facility and tasting room, plus approximately 10 acres of vineyards planted to Zinfandel, Merlot and other varieties. Realtor Mark Stornetta, the agent representing the Ravenswood property, did not respond to the Chronicle's request for comment. The listing comes weeks after a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of over 150 commercial and residential properties in Sonoma County and beyond, which are owned by subsidiaries and affiliates of LeFever Mattson, the real estate investment company founded by Mattson and his longtime business partner Tim LeFever. The former partners, who had amassed a real estate portfolio valued at about $400 million, are engaged in a contentious legal battle and the controversy erupted to include an FBI probe and several additional lawsuits from investors accusing them of fraud. In September, LeFever Mattson and 57 of its entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; proceeds of the real estate sales, including Ravenswood, will be used to pay off lenders and hundreds of investors. Founded in 1976 by winemaker Joel Peterson, Ravenswood specialized in big, single-vineyard Zinfandels and quickly became one of Sonoma County's most notable wine brands. But the winery was acquired by Constellation Brands in 2001 and Ravenswood's stellar reputation faltered under the conglomerate's ownership. Constellation later sold the brand to competitor Gallo as part of the $810 million blockbuster deal that included 30 low-end wine and spirits brands. Before the deal was finalized in 2021, the Ravenswood tasting room closed and the property was sold to Sonoma's Best Hospitality Group, one of Mattson's many companies. Ravenswood was one of several wine-related entities that Mattson, once poised to become a Wine Country power player, compiled during his Sonoma County buying spree. It was meant to be the future home of two brands: a new winery called Harrow Cellars and Sojourn Cellars, a small Sonoma Pinot Noir producer that the group purchased later that year. According to the listing, Sonoma County approved Sonoma's Best's application to revitalize and expand the property. But construction never got underway. Ravenswood remained boarded up and untouched, as if it were frozen in time. Now, its fate awaits its next buyer.
