After weeks of frustration among the victims of the Ponzi-like scheme allegedly perpetrated by Sonoma County real estate investor Ken Mattson that he was still living in the lap of luxury, Mattson and his wife are being evicted from their Sonoma estate.
Ken Mattson and his wife Stacy, who have been fighting an eviction proceeding that stemmed from their bankruptcy filing, are going to be evicted from their $6 million Sonoma hills preoperty on June 15. As the Press Democrat was first to report, the Sonoma home will be sold, and its proceeds will become part of a restitution fund that will be used to pay back investors who lost money with Mattson.
Mattson was arrested one year ago, outside of a Napa gym, after months of rumbling around Sonoma County about the neglect of the local businesses Mattson had ammassed, the sale of property at fire-sale prices, and a growing number of angry investors seeking to get their money back. Those investors, as the Chronicle reports, were mostly "middle-income retirees" who thought they were buying shares in Mattson's ever-growing real estate portfolio, once said to be worth $413 million.
Instead, Mattson allegedly spent their money, buying the Sonoma estate, as well as an almost $10 million home designed by Julia Morgan in Piedmont, in addition to luxury cars like a Rolls Royce he was seen driving around Sonoma in until last year.
We learned last month that Mattson is expected to take a plea deal in federal court, pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud, for which he could spend up to 20 years in prison.
The eviction proceeding is related to one of the web of civil and criminal lawsuits against Mattson, as defrauded victims seek to be made whole. A bankruptcy judge is overseeing the liquidation of all of the assets owned by Mattson and his former business partner Timothy LeFever, who has claimed that Mattson acted alone in the fraud scheme.
As the Chronicle reports, the Piedmont home was sold earlier this month for $8.4 million, after going on the market two years ago for $9.9 million.
One victim, Santa Rosa resident Maria Crane, expressed frustration last week, speaking to the Chronicle, about the slowness of the wheels of justice. "We’re trying to keep our home, and he’s still living in a mansion that he used our money to buy," Crane said.
Meanwhile, some of the hospitality businesses Mattson built or purchased, including Cornerstone Sonoma and the Sonoma Cheese Factory on the town square, have been bought by new owners and are humming along once more. Cornerstone sold in December for $10.65 million, and two other historic properties near Sonoma Square, including the General's Daughter mansion and wedding venue (pictured above) sold last month for $6 million.
Mattson is due back in federal court on June 15, at which point he is expected to enter a plea, and after which a federal judge will decide the length of his sentence.
Previously: Sonoma County Real Estate Investor Ken Mattson to Take Guilty Plea In Federal Fraud Case
Top image courtesy of the General's Daughter.
