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Family seek answers in case of California accountant who vanished from son’s game, her dog found hours later, on 28th floor of high rise – Heidi Planck is financial controller at a firm under SEC investigation for $43m fraud

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Ex-husband of missing accountant says she left at half time from their son&&num;8217&semi;s game and has not been seen since &&num;8211&semi; Three days later&comma; the devoted mother failed to pick up their son from school <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Heidi Planck was last seen at her 10-year-old son&&num;8217&semi;s football game on October 17 in the Downey district of Los Angeles&comma; where he ex said she appeared to be on edge <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Planck&comma; 39&comma; was reported missing three days later&comma; after failing to collect her son from school in Westwood&comma; LA after the failed school run <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>In one of her last known sightings&comma; surveillance cameras captured her leaving her home in Reynier Village&comma; LA&comma; on October 17&comma; with her dog Seven <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Planck&&num;8217&semi;s dog was found on the night of October 17 in downtown Los Angeles&comma; wandering an apartment complex alone&comma; however the<&sol;strong> <strong>owners of the apartment building are refusing to cooperate with investigators and hand over footage without a warrant<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Planck is financial controller at an investment firm where the managing partner is currently under investigation for a &dollar;43 million fraud <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Planck&&num;8217&semi;s boss&comma; <strong>Jason Sugarman<&sol;strong><&sol;strong>&comma; <strong>was sued by SEC for grabbing &dollar;9million in cash as part of a scheme hatched with &&num;8220&semi;Porn&&num;8217&semi;s New King&&num;8221&semi; <strong>Jason Galanis<&sol;strong>&comma; to swindle a Native American tribe out of &dollar;60million&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color has-normal-font-size wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;3d3737"><strong>Galanis is serving 11 years in prison for hatching a scheme to steal &dollar;60million from a Native American tribe with Sugarman as his alleged co-conspirator<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Planck-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394302" width&equals;"833" height&equals;"866"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Missing&colon; Heidi Planck&comma; 39&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; was last seen at her 10-year-old son&&num;8217&semi;s football game in Los Angeles&comma; on Oct&period; 17&period; She was reported missing on three days later when she failed to pick him up from school Search continues after California mom vanishes without a trace<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><br>A mystery surrounds the disappearance of an LA mother who was last seen at her son&&num;8217&semi;s football game more than two weeks ago &&num;8211&semi; after her dog was found alone on the 28th floor of an apartment building 12 miles from home&period;<br>Heidi Planck&comma; 39&comma; vanished after leaving her 10-year-old son&&num;8217&semi;s football game &&num;8216&semi;looking a little bit antsy&&num;8217&semi; on October 17&period; Her son was due to be with her ex-husband following the game but the alarm was raised three days later when she failed to pick him up from school on October 20&period; <br>Investigators are probing whether Planck&&num;8217&semi;s disappearance could be connected to her job as an financial controller&comma; as her employer is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for a &dollar;43 million fraud&period;<br>Police have released home surveillance footage of Heidi leaving her home with her dog&comma; Seven&comma; in the Reynier Village district of Los Angeles on October 17&period;  <br>The same day&comma; Planck met her ex-husband&comma; Jim Wayne&comma; at a sports ground in the Downey district of LA to watch their 10-year-old son play football&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Planck-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394303" width&equals;"834" height&equals;"918"&sol;><figcaption><strong> Investigators are probing whether Heidi Planck&&num;8217&semi;s disappearance could be connected to her job&comma; as her employer is under a federal securities investigation for a &dollar;43 million fraud<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The apartment complex however&comma; are reportedly refusing to cooperate with investigators and have denied requests to search the building&&num;8217&semi;s parking structure and security footage without warrant&comma; <a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;losangeles&period;cbslocal&period;com&sol;2021&sol;10&sol;29&sol;federal-agents-enter-home-of-heidi-planck-with-guns-drawn&sol;">CBS 2<&sol;a> reported&period;  <br>Onni Group&comma; a real estate development company&comma; is the owner of the building&comma; the Hope &plus; Flower luxury residential complex in downtown Los Angeles&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;People are very&comma; very attached to their pets&comma; and their pets do not just go missing&comma;&&num;8217&semi; said Jarrod Burguan&comma; a retired San Bernardino police chief&period; &&num;8216&semi;There clearly is something out of place here&period;&&num;8217&semi; <br>Friends and family said that Planck was not known to have any connection to the building&period;  <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Planck-6&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394360" width&equals;"837" height&equals;"520"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Last seen&comma; home surveillance footage captured Heidi Planck leaving her home in the Reynier Village district of Los Angeles&comma; with her dog Seven on October 17&period; She climbs into the Range Rover and drives off<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">However&comma; Planck allegedly&comma; did not last the game&period; At half time she said she needed to leave&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s been reported that she was acting &&num;8216&semi;a little bit edgy&&num;8217&semi;&period; She has not been seen since&period; <br>Her dog&comma; Seven&comma; was found alone later that day in downtown Los Angeles on the 28th floor of a high rise building&comma; and was traced to her thanks to his microchip&period; <br>A couple who live in the apartment block sheltered the dog for a week as they tried unsuccessfully to contact the registered owner&period;<br><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Planck-5&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394359" width&equals;"839" height&equals;"508"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Planck vanished later that day after leaving her son&&num;8217&semi;s football game looking &&num;8216&semi;antsy&&num;8217&semi; and the alarm was raised when she failed to pick him up from school three days later&comma; on October 20<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">On Friday&comma; federal agents and robbery homicide detectives from the LAPD entered her home with their guns drawn&period; <br>Sources told CBS that officers believed they could be walking into a crime scene&period; <br>LAPD forensics team was present at the house&comma; combing through every room&comma; the garbage and planters around the home&period;<br>The mother-of-one left her home on October 17 at the Reynier Village district was last seen at her son&&num;8217&semi;s football game in Downey&period; Her dog was found later that day in downtown LA&period;<br>The alarm was raised three days later by her ex&comma; when Planck failed to pick up their son from school in Westwood&period; Jim Wayne filed a missing person&&num;8217&semi;s report for his ex-wife on October 20&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Planck-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394309" width&equals;"848" height&equals;"843"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Planck&&num;8217&semi;s dog named Seven&comma; &lbrack;seen with her in the photo&rsqb;&comma; was found alone wandering the corridors 28 floors up&comma; in an apartment building in downtown Los Angeles on October 17&period; The dog was traced to her via its microchip<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Her dog was found three hours after Planck was last seen&comma; on the 28th story of an apartment building in Downtown Los Angeles&period;<br>Seven&comma; Planck&&num;8217&semi;s dog was found alone wandering the corridors of an apartment building in downtown Los Angeles on October 17 and was traced to her via its microchip&period; <br>A couple who lived in the apartment block looked after the dog for a week as they were unable to get in touch with the owner&comma; before Planck&&num;8217&semi;s ex-husband eventually tracked it down&period; <br>So far&comma; the apartment complex has denied requests to search the building’s parking structure and security footage without warrant&period;<br>Investigators are probing whether Planck&&num;8217&semi;s disappearance could be connected to her job&period; <br>She has a high profile job in a company under a federal securities investigation for possible fraud charges&comma; CBS 2 reported&period;  <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Plancks-missing-person-flier-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394321" width&equals;"832" height&equals;"1071"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jim Wayne who described his ex-wife as a devoted mother who would not let a day pass without speaking to their son&comma; says it&&num;8217&semi;s unusual that he didn&&num;8217&semi;t receive any calls or texts from Planck after she left the game&comma; with their son staying over with him<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Jim-Wayne-23&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394328" width&equals;"835" height&equals;"810"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jim Wayne&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; Planck&&num;8217&semi;s ex-husband&comma; said that he knew something was deeply wrong when she failed to collect their son from school and filed a missing person report<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Planck&&num;8217&semi;s LinkedIn says she works as a controller at Camden Capital &&num;8211&semi; a role which sees her overseeing all employees involved in the accounting process&comma; including accounts receivable&comma; accounts payable&comma; payroll&comma; inventory and compliance&period; Camden Capital is an investment advisory firm that handles wealth management and legacy planning for prominent high net worth individuals&period; <br>Jason Sugarman&comma; a managing partner at Camden Capital&comma; was charged in June 2019 by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his role in a scheme to steal &dollar;43 million of client funds they purported to invest in Native American tribal bonds&period; <br>Sugarman is a minority owner of Los Angeles Football Club and son-in-law of Hollywood mogul Peter Guber&comma; CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and owner of the Golden State Warriors NBA team&period;  <br>In 2020&comma; Sugarman&&num;8217&semi;s business partner&comma; Jason Galanis&comma; was sentenced to 189 months in prison for his participation in multiple fraudulent schemes including the tribal bond scheme&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Jason-Sugarman-left-with-his-wife-Elizabeth-Guber-Sugarman-and-their-son-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394312" width&equals;"841" height&equals;"538"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jason Sugarman &lbrack;left&rsqb;&comma; seen with his wife Elizabeth Guber-Sugarman and their son&comma; &lbrack;right&rsqb;&comma; is the managing partner of Camden Capital&comma; where Planck works and was charged in 2019 by the SEC with participating in a &dollar;43 million fraud scheme&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Jason Sugarman is the managing partner of Camden Capital&comma; where Planck works and was charged in 2019 by the SEC with participating in a &dollar;43 million fraud scheme&period; Sugarman is the son-in-law of Peter Guber&comma; the Hollywood mogul and co-owner of the NBA&&num;8217&semi;s Golden State Warriors&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Peter-Guber-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394319" width&equals;"514" height&equals;"679"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jason Sugarman is the son-in-law of Peter Guber photo&rsqb;&comma; Hollywood titan and co-owner of the NBA&&num;8217&semi;s Golden State Warriors&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Meanwhile&comma; Planck&&num;8217&semi;s family and friends are deeply concerned that foul play was involved in her disappearance and say they are hopeful she can return home to them&comma; and her son&period;  <br>Wayne&comma; who has 50&sol;50 custody of their son&comma; said that last time her saw her&comma; at their son&&num;8217&semi;s game&comma; she had been &&num;8216&semi;a little bit edgy&&num;8217&semi; but he didn&&num;8217&semi;t know why&period; <br>He said that she wasn&&num;8217&semi;t due to pick up their son until October 20&comma; but unusually&comma; he didn&&num;8217&semi;t receive any calls or texts from her after she left the game&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;She doesn&&num;8217&semi;t let a day go by without either a text message or a phone call&comma; even if she was really busy&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Wayne said&period;  When she failed to pick up the boy from his school in Westwood&comma; near Beverly Hills&comma; on October 20&comma; he knew something was deeply wrong&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;She&&num;8217&semi;s a devoted mother who would never&comma; ever leave her son&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Wayne told DateLine&period;  <br>&&num;8216&semi;She wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t let a day go by without talking to her son&comma; there&&num;8217&semi;s no way&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;We have a 10-year-old boy at home that&&num;8217&semi;s looking for his mom and we just need to find her&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Jim-Wayne-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394323" width&equals;"837" height&equals;"830"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jim Wayne&comma; who has 50&sol;50 custody of their son&comma; said that last time her saw her&comma; at their son&&num;8217&semi;s game&comma; she had been &&num;8216&semi;a little bit edgy&&num;8217&semi; but he didn&&num;8217&semi;t know why&period; He said that she wasn&&num;8217&semi;t due to pick up their son until October 20&comma; but unusually&comma; he didn&&num;8217&semi;t receive any calls or texts from her after she left the game<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">That&&num;8217&semi;s when he filed a missing persons report with the LAPD who found her home empty&period;<br>However&comma; Wayne said they did find a text on her phone&comma; which had been left behind&comma; from a woman who had found her dog Seven and traced her via its microchip&period; <br>Wayne he&&num;8217&semi;s desperate to get Planck back for the sake of their son&comma; who turns 11 this week and doesn&&num;8217&semi;t want to celebrate without his mom&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;He was doing OK until he saw a photo of them the other day &&num;8211&semi; and then he just broke down&comma;&&num;8217&semi; he said&period; &&num;8216&semi;He told me that he just wanted one more time to talk to her&period; That hurt&period; That was really painful&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>&&num;8216&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re just hoping for a miracle and that she comes home&period;&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Plancks-dog-was-found-in-his-building-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394332" width&equals;"837" height&equals;"600"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Planck&&num;8217&semi;s dog was found in an apt&period; inside the Hope &plus; Flower luxury residential complex &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; in downtown LA &period; The owners of the apartment building are refusing to cooperate with investigators and hand over footage without a warrant<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><br>Friends and family have speculated that foul play has to be involved&comma; especially with the odd set of circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the reluctance of the apartment complex to cooperate with investigators&period;<br>Planck from upstate New York moved out to the West Coast in 2001 to attend college&comma; where she attended California State University&comma; Los Angeles&period;<br>She was making plans to return home to the Buffalo&comma; New York&comma; area to spend Thanksgiving with family and attend a class reunion&comma; Her mother said&period; <br>She is also &OpenCurlyQuote;leaning towards her &lbrack;daughter&&num;8217&semi;s&rsqb;&comma; employment’ as the possible link that could explain her disappearance&period; Those sentiment appear to echo the initial assumptions of Feds and robbery homicide detectives from the LAPD went into Planck’s home with guns drawn on Friday evening to execute a search warrant&period; <br>Sources believe that officers were under the impression that they might have been walking into a crime scene&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Heidi-Plancks-home-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394345" width&equals;"848" height&equals;"379"&sol;><figcaption><strong> On Friday evening&comma; federal agents and robbery homicide detectives raided Planck&&num;8217&semi;s home &lpar;pictured&rpar; in Reynier Village&comma; Mid-City&comma; LA&comma; believing they could be walking into a crime scene&period; On Friday night evidence removed from the property<&sol;strong> <&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Planck is described as having blond hair and blue eyes&comma; standing five feet&comma; three inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds&period;  <br>When she was last seen&comma; she was wearing jeans and a gray sweater and was driving a gray 2017 Range Rover with California license plate U840X0&period;  <br>Heidi Planck&comma; the missing Los Angeles woman&comma; works at a company whose managing partner&comma; Jason Sugarman&comma; was alleged to have hatched a massive scheme to swindle a Native American tribe out of &dollar;60million&period;<br>Sugarman&&num;8217&semi;s alleged co-conspirator in the plot&comma; Jason Galanis&comma; was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison&period; <br>The federal government declined to pursue criminal charges against Sugarman&comma; instead opting to sue him in civil court in hopes of recouping the &dollar;9million that he is alleged to have pocketed from the scheme&period;<br>Galanis&comma; the son of reputed white-collar criminal John Peter Galanis&comma; was once dubbed &&num;8216&semi;Porn&&num;8217&semi;s New King&&num;8217&semi; in 2002 after his company purchased iBill&comma; which at the time was the largest processor of credit card payments used to procure pornographic material online&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Jason-Galanis-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394347" width&equals;"671" height&equals;"966"&sol;><figcaption> J<strong>ason Galanis&comma; who was once dubbed &&num;8216&semi;Porn&&num;8217&semi;s New King&&num;8217&semi;&comma; is serving 11 years in prison for hatching a scheme to steal &dollar;60million from a Native American tribe&period; Sugarman was his alleged co-conspirator <&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">In 2019&comma; the Securities and Exchange Commission named Sugarman in a complaint alleging that he and his business partner&comma; Jason Galanis&comma; orchestrated a scheme in which they and others &&num;8216&semi;stole &dollar;43million from unwitting pension funds&&num;8217&semi; to finance the acquisition of a conglomerate of European and Bermuda-based insurance companies&period; <br>Sugarman and Galanis are then alleged to have used the funds to pay off debt&comma; buy real estate&comma; shore up the operations of their existing businesses&comma; compensate co-conspirators&comma; and make other investments to enrich themselves&period; <br>In order to &&num;8216&semi;cover their tracks&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Sugarman and Galanis made several &&num;8216&semi;complex&&num;8217&semi; transactions that involved &&num;8216&semi;victimizing&&num;8217&semi; a Native American corporal tribal corporation&comma; the Washington State-based Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation&comma; according to the SEC&period; <br>Sugarman and Galanis were accused of &&num;8216&semi;surreptitiously siphon&lbrack;ing&rsqb; millions of dollars in cash from the entities that they acquired&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the complaint read&period; <br>The scheme destroyed the European insurance conglomerate&comma; Liechtenstein-based Valorlife and Wealth-Assurance AG&comma; which was placed in administrative receivership&period; <br>Administrative receivership is a procedure in which a creditor is legally empowered to take control over a company&&num;8217&semi;s assets&comma; run the business&comma; and then dispose of the assets&comma; either piecemeal or as part of the sale of the business as a going concern&comma; in order to satisfy the secured debt&period; <br>The Bermudan insurance holding company&comma; VL Assurance&comma; was delisted from the Bermuda Stock Exchange&comma; according to the SEC filing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Wakpamni-Lake-Community-Corporation-3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394350" width&equals;"836" height&equals;"922"&sol;><figcaption> <strong>SEC claims that in March 2014&comma; Jason Galanis and his father&comma; John Galanis&comma; convinced the Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation&comma; which is said to have been owned by the federally recognized Oglala Sioux Tribe&comma; in the end leaving the Wakpamni indebted for &dollar;60million<&sol;strong> <&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The SEC claims that in March 2014&comma; Galanis and his father&comma; John Galanis&comma; convinced the Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation&comma; which is said to have been owned by the federally recognized Oglala Sioux Tribe&comma; to become the issuer of limited recourse bonds that the father and his son had already structured&period; <br>Ultimately&comma; the Native American tribe was left indebted for &dollar;60million&period; According to the SEC&comma; Sugarman &&num;8216&semi;was the biggest winner from the fraud&period;&&num;8217&semi; <br>He ended up with voting control over corporate assets that were acquired with bond proceeds&comma; and from which he ultimately siphoned almost &dollar;9million in cash for his direct and personal benefit&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to federal investigators&period; <br>The SEC claims that in March 2014&comma; Galanis and his father&comma; John Galanis&comma; convinced the Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation&comma; which is said to have been owned by the federally recognized Oglala Sioux Tribe&comma; to become the issuer of limited recourse bonds that the father and his son had already structured&period; <br>The plan was for the tribal corporation to use the proceeds from the bond sales to buy an annuity as an investment that could generate income&comma; which would then pay interest to bondholders&period; <br>The sale of the bonds was also supposed to have generated funds that were to be used for tribal economic development purposes&period; <br>But the SEC alleges that Jason Galanis and Sugarman instead used the proceeds from the bonds for their own benefit&period; <br>They allegedly hatched a scheme to identify investors who would then buy the tribal bonds&period;  <br>In order to do that&comma; they &&num;8216&semi;devised a plan to obtain control over investors&&num;8217&semi; funds by acquiring investment advisers who would use their investment authority to purchase the bonds for their clients&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the complaint&period; <br>After acquiring the adviser firms&comma; Sugarman and Galanis installed Michelle Morton at the helm&comma; the SEC said&period; Morton then &&num;8216&semi;used client funds to purchase the tribal bonds in client accounts&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the complaint read&period; <br>Morton assumed the role of CEO of Hughes Capital Management LLC&comma; a company that oversaw some &dollar;900million for various pension funds&comma; according to the government&period; <br>The acquisition of Hughes Capital Management was allegedly financed by Sugarman&period; <br>The SEC alleges that Sugarman also engineered the acquisition of Atlantic Asset Management LLC&period; <br>Morton was once again installed as CEO of that firm after the purchase&comma; according to the SEC&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;Wakpamni-Lake-Community-Corporation-2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-394349" width&equals;"840" height&equals;"615"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Jason Sugarman and Jason Galanis victimized a Native American corporal tribal corporation&comma; the Washington State-based Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation&comma; according to the SEC<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The plan was for the tribal corporation to use the proceeds from the bond sales to buy an annuity as an investment that could generate income&comma; which would then pay interest to bondholders&period; The sale of the bonds was also supposed to have generated funds that were to be used for tribal economic development purposes&period; <br>Without those companies&&num;8217&semi; knowledge&comma; &&num;8216&semi;Sugarman and Galanis exercised undisclosed control over both Hughes and AAM&comma;&&num;8217&semi; according to the SEC&period; <br>In August 2014&comma; Hughes clients were told to buy &dollar;27million worth of tribal bonds&comma; the SEC said&period; <br>Instead of using the proceeds to purchase an annuity&comma; as per the terms of the bond&&num;8217&semi;s issuing documents&comma; most of the profits would instead be used to personally benefit Sugarman&comma; Galanis&comma; and the entities they controlled&comma; according to the SEC&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter wp-amp-block" id&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;1"><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;container swiper"><amp-carousel width&equals;"570" height&equals;"714" layout&equals;"responsive" type&equals;"slides" data-next-button-aria-label&equals;"Next Slide" data-prev-button-aria-label&equals;"Previous Slide" controls loop id&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-carousel&lowbar;&lowbar;1" on&equals;"slideChange&colon;wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-pagination&lowbar;&lowbar;1&period;toggle&lpar;index&equals;event&period;index&comma; value&equals;true&rpar;"><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"570" height&equals;"714" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-1&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;570&percnt;2C714&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-1&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;570&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 570w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-1&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;239&percnt;2C300&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 239w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 570px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 570px" &sol;><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"557" height&equals;"714" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-2&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;557&percnt;2C714&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-2&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;572&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 572w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-2&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;234&percnt;2C300&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 234w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 557px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 557px" &sol;><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"567" height&equals;"714" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-3&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;567&percnt;2C714&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-3&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;567&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 567w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-3&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;238&percnt;2C300&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 238w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 567px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 567px" &sol;><&sol;figure><&sol;div><div class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;slide"><figure><img width&equals;"570" height&equals;"714" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-4&period;jpg&quest;fit&equals;570&percnt;2C714&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;image" alt&equals;"" object-fit&equals;"contain" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-4&period;jpg&quest;w&equals;571&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 571w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;i0&period;wp&period;com&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;11&sol;SEC-vs-Jason-Sugarman-4&period;jpg&quest;resize&equals;239&percnt;2C300&amp&semi;ssl&equals;1 239w" sizes&equals;"&lpar;max-width&colon; 570px&rpar; 100vw&comma; 570px" &sol;><&sol;figure><&sol;div><&sol;amp-carousel><amp-selector id&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-pagination&lowbar;&lowbar;1" class&equals;"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-custom amp-pagination" on&equals;"select&colon;wp-block-jetpack-slideshow&lowbar;&lowbar;amp-carousel&lowbar;&lowbar;1&period;goToSlide&lpar;index&equals;event&period;targetOption&rpar;" layout&equals;"container"><button option&equals;"0" class&equals;"swiper-pagination-bullet" tabindex&equals;"0" role&equals;"button" aria-label&equals;"Go to slide 1" selected><&sol;button><button option&equals;"1" class&equals;"swiper-pagination-bullet" tabindex&equals;"0" role&equals;"button" aria-label&equals;"Go to slide 2" ><&sol;button><button option&equals;"2" class&equals;"swiper-pagination-bullet" tabindex&equals;"0" role&equals;"button" aria-label&equals;"Go to slide 3" ><&sol;button><button option&equals;"3" class&equals;"swiper-pagination-bullet" tabindex&equals;"0" role&equals;"button" aria-label&equals;"Go to slide 4" ><&sol;button><&sol;amp-selector><&sol;div><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">In April of 2015&comma; Sugarman and Galanis directed Morton to buy another &dollar;16&period;2milion in tribal bonds with funds from AAM clients&comma; according to the complaint&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;Again&comma; none of the proceeds was ever invested in a legitimate annuity&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the SEC said&period; <br>Wealth-Assurance was the company that provided financing for the purchase of Hughes&comma; according to the complaint&period; <br>Sugarman and Galanis arranged for Wealth-Assurance to buy Valorlife with &dollar;11million in tribal bond proceeds&comma; according to the SEC&period; <br>The two are also alleged to have arranged for VGL in Bermuda to buy VL Assurance using a tribal bond&period; VL Assurance is then alleged to have funneled over &dollar;8million to Sugarman as purported loans to him or his affiliated entity&period; <br>Anyone with information is asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department&&num;8217&semi;s Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800&period; <br>During non-business hours or on weekends&comma; tipsters can call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 &lpar;877-527-3247&rpar;&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;

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