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Fotis Dulos bank-rolled jet-set lifestyle with his girlfriend for years, lawyers claim in civil trial over $2.5million loan he ‘owes’ his missing ex-wife Jennifer’s family

Posted on December 3, 2019 by konniemoments in News // 0 Comments

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Fotis Dulos funded jet-set lifestyle with his girlfriend for years, lawyers claim at civil trial over $2.5million loan he ‘owes’ his missing ex-wife Jennifer’s family
Dulos, 51, is charged with evidence tampering in the disappearance of his ex-wife Jennifer
She vanished in May and her body has never been found 
Separately, he is being sued by her family who say he owes them $2.5million
As part of that case, he arrived in court today to testify in a risky legal move
Anything he says on the stand can be used by prosecutors against him in the criminal case 
They believe he ‘lay in wait’ for Jennifer at her home in Connecticut the day she disappeared 
They were in the midst of a bitter divorce and custody battle at the time  
Fotis Dulos 7.JPGFotis Dulos took the stand on Tuesday as part of a civil lawsuit launched against him by his missing ex-wife’s mother who say he owes the Farber family $2.5million in unpaid loans. Gloria Farber filed the suit 18 months before her daughter vanished
Fotis Dulos the Connecticut based luxury home builder who is under investigation in his wife’s disappearance, was funding a jet-set lifestyle for his new paramour and himself for years before he and his now missing wife Jennifer started divorce proceedings.
These allegations are contained in the claims on Tuesday, at a civil trial over $2.5million debt he allegedly owes his in-laws.
Jennifer Farber Dulos has been missing since May, presumed dead. Her body has never been found.
Though he has not been charged with harming or killing her, but police have accused Fotis Dulos and his lover, Michelle Troconis, of tampering with evidence.
They have also suggested that DNA belonging to his estranged wife was found in his car and said in an arrest warrant that he likely ‘lay in wait’ for her the day she vanished.

In June, Fotis and His girlfriend Michelle Traconis, 44, were arrested in connection with Jennifer’s May 24 appearance and pled not guilty to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
Traconis is accused of helping Fotis clean up a pickup truck that cops say was used the day Jennifer disappeared.
While he awaits his next court appearance in the criminal case, Dulos is simultaneously facing a civil lawsuit filed by his Jennifer’s mother.

The revelations were part of the unrelated civil suit brought by Jennifer’s mother, Gloria Farber, who claims Fotis, 51, owes her millions of dollars in unpaid loans after she invested in his real estate business and helped pay for the sprawling, 14,000-square-foot mansion in Farmington where her daughter and son-in-law lived with their five children.
Gloria Farber is claiming her former son-in-law owes her $2.5million in unpaid loans.
That lawsuit was filed in January 2018, 18 months before Jennifer disappeared.
In a risky and unorthodox move on Tuesday, Fotis decided to take the stand in that case, despite exposing himself to questions about Jennifer, their marriage and their life which could later be used against him in the criminal trial.


Michelle Troconis 2.JPGFotis Dulos’ girlfriend, Michelle Troconis is also expected to testify at the civil trial. Troconis [Photo], has also been charged with evidence tampering and allegedly,  has admitted making up an alibi for Dulos on the day Jennifer disappeared
Fotis Dulos 9Dulos carried a large weekend bag over one shoulder as he arrived for the civil trial 
Fotis and Jennifer had been engaged in a bitter divorce battle when she vanished.
As part of a forensic examination of Fotis’ finances, a paralegal employed by Farber’s lawyer told the civil court judge that the real estate developer lived a lavish jet-set lifestyle with his mistress.
A forensic accountant told the court he had been paying for flights for him, Troconis, and Troconis’ son to exotic locations since 2015, two years before Jennifer filed for divorce.
Dulos and Troconis had been having an affair but he resolved to save his marriage after Jennifer found out. She then later filed for divorce.
Dulos himself risked taking the stand, because while the trial was was not about Jennifer’s disappearance, anything he says about their marriage could be used as part of the criminal case. 
Still, he was clearly surprised when the flights were brought up in court on Tuesday, such that his criminal attorney, Norm Pattis, who was there to watch the proceedings, put his head in his hands.
He was at first questioned about his business and his relationship with his late father-in-law, Hilliard Farber, who he said was ‘like a second father to him’. 

He said that in the beginning, the money was intended as a loan but that as he progressed in business, Hilliard said he no longer had to pay him back.
Early on Tuesday morning, his attorney Norm Pattis told CBS This Morning: ‘These commercial transactions took place years ago.
‘We don’t think they shed any light whatsoever on the criminal allegations,’ he said.
Jennifer’s mother sued Fotis in January 2018, 18 months before she vanished, claiming he had reneged on business loans that their family gave him.
Dulos has dismissed these claims in interviews saying he does not owe the Farbers anything.

Gloria and Hilliard Farber, [left], and theiir daughter Jennifer Dulos 1Fotis is being sued by his former mother-in-law, Gloria Farber, who says her late husband Hilliard seen in [photo, left] with her, gave him a $2.5million loan which he has never repaid 
Fotis Dulos 8.JPGDulos on the stand on Tuesday testified about his business dealings and the money he says was ‘a gift’ from his wife Jennifer’s family 
Since her disappearance, the family has issued multiple statements to express their pain and asking for information which could lead to solving the mystery of what happened to her.

Jennifer’s friends have outwardly pointed the finger at Fotis and have asked him to reveal where her body is.
He has vehemently denied having anything to do with her disappearance and says the case has anguished him because it is keeping him from his five children.
His girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, is also expected to testify as part of the civil lawsuit.
Police say she turned on Dulos by admitting in an interview in August that she had lied when she said she was with him for the duration of the morning Jennifer vanished.  

Norm Pattis 1.JPGDulos’ attorney Norm Pattis gave an interview on Tuesday morning saying it was a ‘horrible situation’ which added pressure to the criminal case. Pattis has repeatedly flouted a judge issued a gag order preventing both sides from speaking about the criminal case, but Pattis has repeatedly flouted it.  
Dulos’ attorneys have accused the police of unethical leaks and say it is unorthodox for them to level so much against him without charging him. 

The judge issued a gag order preventing both sides from speaking about the criminal case, but Pattis has repeatedly flouted it.
The first witness called on Tuesday was retired attorney John Schmitt who was the executor of Jennifer’s late father, Hilliard’s, estate.
Next was an accountant who said in a 2016 tax return, Fotis noted in company documents a loan from Hilliard for $2million.
The next year, the accountant claims Fotis asked him to move it from accounts payable to equity. When he refused, Fotis, he alleged, had someone else do it.
Police claim to have surveillance camera footage of Dulos and a woman who looks like Troconis dumping trash bags at various locations on the night Jennifer vanished.
They said that when tested, some of those bags contained DNA evidence linked to Jennifer.
Police also interviewed an employee of Dulos’ who said that he took his car on the day his ex-wife vanished then switched out the backseats.
The man claimed he kept the backseats and, when tested, police said they found traces of Jennifer’s blood on them.
On Tuesday, Fotis was accompanied to court by his sister, Rena. She told a Fox reporter outside that it was ‘impossible’ he could have hurt her.
‘He is the nicest person I know. He is a very, very good person,’ she added.

 

 

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