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Martinovich update

ramblur

By ramblur
in Derby County Forum

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ramblur

ramblur

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Didn't he get alot of heat off Derby fans a couple of months back for dodgy dealings? Might have been related to this article I can't quite remember.

This was the original article:-

http://articles.dailypress.com/2010-08-22/business/dp-nws-micg-investment-20100819_1_micg-and-martinovich-general-sports-derby-partners-venture-strategies

I'd forgotten that this was originally posted on DET,hence some members of our new host forum might not be aware of it.

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CornwallRam

CornwallRam

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I have a feeling that this season is going to be the first for many years where Derby County are going to make an operating profit. Wage bill south of £9m, over £2m from the Premier League. I think that MIGHT account for why were in a position to put in a substantial bid for Hooper (assuming it wasn't hyperbole design to tempt waverers into buying season tickets)

Then the Martinovich thing blew up and the money was (2+2=5 on my part) to buy out his hedge fund's shares.

Also, GSE's naming rights arm got some bad news in June. They had a deal to sell the rights to the new terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. They were due between 12 and 15%. Pepsi were considering offering a $billion for the beverage rights, so it was a big deal. But due to the economic situation the airport have decided to call a halt to the agreement. Probaly realize they will get much more when the global economy picks up. This may also have dented GSE's plans.

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uttoxram75

uttoxram75

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Thanks for the news ramblur.

Like it says in the story, to agree to a life ban from the Financial regulator is as good as an admission of guilt.

The reference to DCFC is probably not meaningful to us but up to the point of his demise he would have been feted as a succesful businessman, well respected, family man, blah, blah, blah.

Hypocritical shyster.

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  • 1 year later...
Stive Pesley

Stive Pesley

Posted
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Some of you will remember a guy called Jeff Martinovich.

He was one of our original "investors" in that he ran a hedge fund which he got people to invest in - and some of that money was staked in DCFC with Martinovich being the shareholder

He went bust in 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/24/derby-county-shareholder-banned-investing

and was banned from financial management after it became apparent he had over-valued the stock in DCFC to his investors (amongst other things)

Anyway I just noticed that his bankruptcy hearing was discharged a couple of months back. Basically he got away with it and no one who put money into the hedge fund is getting anything back.

What this means to DCFC is unclear, I guess that investment is ours to keep? I don't think we ever found out what happened to his shares either..

Jeff Martinovich.

May 13, 2012 | By Peter Dujardin, pdujardin@dailypress.com

NEWPORT NEWS — — The former head of a Newport News financial brokerage that closed amid a fraud probe two years ago won't have to pay back millions of dollars that he owed to scores of creditors.

Jeffrey A. Martinovich, 46, the onetime chairman and chief executive officer of MICG Investment Management LLC, has been granted a discharge in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case that he filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk in early 2011.

That means that the more than 200 creditors or potential creditors listed in court filings are forever barred from trying to get Martinovich to pay them back.

"That's the goal of a bankruptcy — to get a discharge of your debt to creditors," said Larry Glanzer, a Norfolk bankruptcy attorney who represented a creditor and grilled Martinovich at a bankruptcy hearing last June. "Bankruptcy is there to give the honest debtor a fresh start in life."

It's a fresh start for the charismatic former head of the now-shuttered Oyster Point brokerage house that was formed 12 years ago. Martinovich once drove a Bentley, owned a large house on the James River, and attracted hundreds of wealthy investors from across the Peninsula and beyond to invest with his firm.

Some of those investors simply purchased stocks or mutual funds through the firm's agents and brokers.

But others, often at Martinovich's urging, poured tens of thousands of dollars — and even hundreds of thousands of dollars — into stocks and bonds in MICG itself. MICG stockholders gained an ownership stake in the company. MICG bondholders were promised a generous 9 percent annual return on the money they lent.

Moreover, some investors put hundreds of thousands of dollars into hedge funds associated with MICG and run by Martinovich. Those funds, in turn, invested millions in various ventures, ranging from a British soccer team to a start-up solar panel manufacturer that later filed for bankruptcy.

Before MICG collapsed in May 2010, investors who had simply bought stocks or mutual funds through the firm's financial brokers were able to move their money out.

But those who held stocks and bonds in MICG itself could not sell those holdings. Hedge fund investors also have so far been unable to sell off their stake. They still stand a chance at getting some of their money back, but it's unclear when that might happen or how much they might get.

Angry investors

What is clear is that Martinovich's recent bankruptcy discharge — which has forever wiped away his pre-bankruptcy debts — has rankled some investors.

Two investors who declined to have their names used for this story told the Daily Press they did not believe Martinovich had intentionally scammed them. But others disagreed, not buying the notion that Martinovich deserved to have his debts wiped clean.

"I think the police ought to go get him and put him in jail," said Dr. Thomas Stiles, 82, of Newport News, who said he's out more than $544,000 that he poured into MICG hedge funds.

Stiles, who retired as an orthopedist two years ago, said that in part because of his lost nest egg, he is now planning to sell off the New York City apartment that he and his wife had once hoped to move into in the coming years.

He said he has had trouble sleeping at night because he tosses and turns thinking about how Martinovich swindled him.

Martinovich, contacted this week, declined to immediately comment on his bankruptcy discharge or the criticism. He said he would check with others on whether he could talk, but did not respond by press time for this story.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or Finra, began investigating MICG for possible securities violations, including fraud, in early 2010. Finra's Department of Enforcement is an industry-funded regulator of U.S. securities firms that operates under oversight of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

In May 2010, Finra filed a disciplinary action against MICG and Martinovich, accusing them of committing securities fraud and misleading investors. Finra alleged that Martinovich "assigned unjustifiably high values" to hedge fund assets in order to inflate his management and incentive fees to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Finra can impose a number of penalties, including censuring, suspending or expelling a firm or broker from trading securities, levying fines and ordering restitution to investors. Finra also can refer cases to the SEC or the federal and state court systems.

Also in May 2010, MICG closed its doors, though one of the firm's attorneys said last week that the closure was unrelated to the Finra action.

Under a settlement reached with Finra in February 2011, Martinovich consented to the authority's findings "without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint." As part of the agreement, Martinovich accepted a permanent ban from working in the securities industry.

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davenportram

davenportram

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I think it was broken by Ramblur on here when the original story hit. Heres a story posted by Daveo in 2010

DERBY County have hit back at suggestions that they could be facing financial trouble.

This follows reports in the United States that one of the Rams investors, Jeff Martinovich, is experiencing financial difficulties.

But the Rams' president and chief executive, Tom Glick, told the Derby Telegraph the matter does not impact on the funding of the football club or the operations, nor will it affect the funding of the club in the future.

Glick said Martinovich is not one of the main investors.

"The board comprises of the majority owners which are Tom Ricketts, Bill Luby, Brett Wilson, Jeff Mallett, Andy Appleby and Tom Vertin – these are the key people in the ownership group and they have carried on and continue to invest into the football club to fund its operations," added Glick.

"Jeff Martinovich is one investor, a smaller investor who is not on the board, not involved in the operations of the football club and whatever troubles he has had they have not impacted on the bigger picture."

It was also reported in this country that Glick missed last Saturday's draw at Barnsley after he flew to America becuase of the "mounting crisis".

But Glick dismissed the suggestion and revealed he actually went back home to attend a family wedding.

"It was my cousin's wedding in Portland Maine, and it was a great occasion," he said.

"I scheduled the trip three months ago in terms of booking the flight.

"It was a short trip and I followed the Barnsley game while I was there.

"Then I visited my son at Boston College before I flew back."

[url=http://www.therams.co.uk/news/Glick-hits-talk-financial-trouble-club/article-2684590-detail/article.html]http://www.therams.c...il/article.html

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ramblur

ramblur

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Last I heard, by the time this arose he had sold the stake in us anyway. So wouldn't have expected it to affect us in any way.

Not so,Martyn.The original story told that MICG had/were in danger of defaulting on a capital call,which would lead to the forfeiture of some stock (which may have been part paid as capital calls were involved).This would still have left MICG with some stock and it is this that presumably gives the hedge fund investors hope of some eventual return.

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