Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone have found themselves victims after a financial adviser swindled money from them and other celebrity clients.
Kenneth Star and his partner Andrew Stein have been charged with a slew of charges including wire fraud, investment adviser fraud and money laundering. Stein, who is the former New York City Council President, was charged with making false statements in a filing with the Internal Revenue Service and making false statements to a federal officer.
Star is accused of stealing more than $30 million from clients and using some of their money to purchase his upscale Manhattan apartment.
The complaint that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission states that Starr provided investment advisory services to more than 30 high net-worth clients, providing accounting, tax preparation, business management, bill-paying and “concierge” services to a larger group of about 175 clients.
The complaint also notes that Starr and others have power of attorney or signatory authority enabling them to control many bank and investment accounts belonging to their clients, which allowed him to steal his clients’ money by transferring their funds into his personal accounts.
As of press time, there was no word on whether the fraudulent activity had any direct connection with Stallone and Snipes’ legal issues with the I.R.S.
