Free Advice to the Stars Re: Ponzi Schemes
Courtesy of Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker
Apparently, something happens when you get famous…the things that tether you down to earth, such as rational thought and common sense, evaporate into the aether.
Yesterday, Kenneth Starr, money manager for Sly Stallone, Annie Leibovitz, Jacob the Jeweler, Uma Thurman, Martin Scorsese and Wesley Snipes, was arrested for a ponzi scheme. In light of this news and in remembrance of similar scams gone by (Dana Giachetto, Bernie Madoff, etc), I thought I’d offer the following free advice to the Hollywood set when working with an advisor…
1. Anyone who refers to himself as a "Financier" is full of sh*t.
2. Your financial advisor is not supposed to play polo or wear designer sunglasses, nor should he ever have a popped up collar under any circumstances. He must never wear shoes without socks or wear a watch with a diamond bezel.
3. In truth, if an advisor or money manager’s opening shpiel is about all of the other famous people he works with, this should not make you feel comfortable. Its actually a giant red flag indicating that you are dealing with a starf*&%er and a social climber who is more concerned with himself than you.
4. Even your brother-in-law will rob you if you give up power of attorney. Go ask Billy Joel. Uma Thurman signed over Power of Attorney so that Ken Starr would do her taxes. That’s funny, my CPA never seemed to need signatory authority over my bank account to prepare my tax forms…hmmm.
5. Custody of assets is all you need to know. If your money guy needs to set up extraneous accounts in both your name and his, its a scam. If he asks you to transfer money into a financial institution that you haven’t seen advertise during The Masters, its a scam. If he tells you not to worry about receiving statements because he’s "taking care of everything", its a scam. You get the idea.
6. Most important: Your financial guy is NOT supposed to party with you. He shouldn’t be at the same nightclub as you buying bottles, nor should he have a copy of Variety in his waiting area. The financial advisor is the guy you apologize to when you sleep through an appointment with him, hung over from an all-night rager. He’s not supposed to be there with you at the club, holding your hair while you vomit up Veuve Cliquot and Red Bull.
7. Almost forgot, young stars and starlets… if the advisor has a nicer home than you or your initial consultation takes place on his yacht – run, Forrest, run.
****
See also:
Kenneth Starr should’ve been arrested 2 years ago: Suit claims he fleeced widow out of millions
If the celebrities bilked by Ken Starr had bothered to check him out online, they would have been warned off by a 2008 civil suit that essentially says THE GUY’S A BIGTIME CROOK!
The question that Starr’s victims should now be asking is why he was not arrested two years ago, when a wealthy Manhattan widow charged that he had fleeced her out of millions over the course of two decades.
Available to one and all online, the complaint filed by Joan Stanton in New York State Supreme Court in April of 2008 begins:
"This is an action for breach of fiduciary duty, professional malpractice, breach of contract, self-dealing, common law fraud, unjust enrichment … all stemming from the gross abuse of trust and confidence that an elderly widow placed in Mr. Starr, her accountant, financial adviser and sometime legal adviser."
Uma Thurman engaged in real life action to get her money back
At dnaindia
Melbourne: Uma Thurman proved she could pull off some real life action – she stormed into Hollywood accountant Kenneth Starr’s office to demand her money he had lost
[…]
Magician David Blaine and actor Al Pacino are among stars who are believed to still have investments tied up with his firm.
