Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.Judge Urges Fraud Case Settlement Involving Curlin’s Co-owners
Posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Special Judge Roger Crittenden made the suggestion of urging opposing sides to settle the multimillion-dollar fraud case involving Horse of the Year Curlin’s original owners during a hearing in a civil case against attorneys William Gallion, Shirley Cunningham Jr. and Melbourne Mills.The hearing centered on issues related to a $42 million judgment against William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., who bought Curlin for $57,000 in 2005, and Melbourne Mills. Mills has no stake in the horse.
The judgment stems from a lawsuit by 418 former clients of the three men who claim they were bilked of the money in a $200 million settlement involving the diet drug fen-phen.
A nonprofit set up by the attorneys, the Kentucky Fund for Healthy Living, also owes the former clients $20 million. Crittenden scheduled a hearing Friday to discuss a distribution plan for the money.
Gallion, Cunningham and Mills face federal wire fraud charges related to the fen-phen settlement. Their criminal trial is May 12. They have pleaded not guilty and are being held in the Boone County jail.
Crittenden also ordered all ownership information from a group of companies and nonprofit foundations run by the three men turned over to attorney Angela Ford, who represents the plaintiffs in the suit.
Ford said Gallion, Cunningham and Mills have yet to turn over any asset information or show there are other owners that have an interest in those companies. That makes it difficult to track down bank accounts and assets, Ford said.
Mary Meade-McKenzie, the attorney for Gallion in the civil case, said lawyers in the criminal case have asked that no asset or ownership information be made public in the civil case.
Crittenden ordered information on all the men’s assets turned over to him under seal. That’s the same information turned over in the criminal case to U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman, who used the information to set multimillion-dollar bond for the men.
Gallion and Cunningham owned Curlin through Midnight Cry Stables and its parent company, Tandy LLC in Lexington.
Gallion and Cunningham sold an 80% stake in Curlin to a group led by Jess Jackson, the founder of Kendall-Jackson Winery and owner of Stonestreet Stables, and his wife, Barbara Banke, last February. Jackson has since bought out two partners.
Curlin won $5.1 million in purses in 2007, winning the Preakness Stakes and the Jockey Club Gold Cup before his Breeders’ Cup Classic win on October 27. Curlin arrived in Dubai this week and is expected to run in a February 28 prep race leading to the $6 million Dubai World Cup on March 29.
"Judge Urges Fraud Case Settlement Involving Curlin’s Co-owners" was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Horses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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