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| April 30, 2010 |
By: Paola Iuspa-Abbott |
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ormer University of Miami football coach Dennis Erickson and former UM and NFL quarterback Steve Walsh have scored a major court victory over a business partner they claimed bilked them, but it’s unlikely they’ll score any cash.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Gill Freeman last week awarded Erickson, Walsh and other local investors $6.5 million over a soured 2007 land deal.
A total of 39 investors contributed from $25,000 to $230,000 each in March 2007 to buy the 15,950-square-foot parcel at the corner of U.S. 1 and Le Jeune Road.
Other investors include WFOR-TV news anchor Eliott Rodriguez and Sun Sentinel sports columnist Dave Hyde.
Walsh, now the head football coach at the Arizona State University, invested $100,000 in the venture. Erickson and Rodriguez invested $50,000 each and Hyde contributed $25,000.
The group pooled $2.7 million planning to buy and quickly resell a Coral Gables parking lot. George “Rod” Timinsky was named managing member of the investment group and was charged with buying, overseeing re-zoning and development of the property.
But according to a July 2009 lawsuit, Timinsky funded a lavish lifestyle with some of the money instead of paying the $1.87 million mortgage on the property.
Timinsky used $627,000 of the $2.7 million fund as down payment on the $2.5 million purchase. He also funded the deal with a $1.87 million mortgage from Colonial Bank.
After the down payment, the investors’ fund was left with about $2 million to pay for carrying costs, including mortgage payments and property taxes.
According to the suit, Timinsky spent $132,210 on a 2007 Porsche Turbo and $275,210 on a racing boat and trailer. He also used the investors’ money to maintain his luxury home in Gables by the Sea, pay child support and gave money to his girlfriend.
Despite the court victory, it’s unclear if the investors will ever collect the money.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Timinsky has fled and [his bank] accounts have been looted of all the money,” said David Lichter, who represented the investors. “It is a bittersweet victory because while we have the judgment, they have no money” to go after.
“We have not yet been able to locate any assets, but we are not giving up,” said Lichter of Higer Lichter & Givner in Aventura. “We intend to pursue him by all means possible.”
In January, Colonial Bank won a foreclosure lawsuit on the parking lot.
Timinsky’s lawyer, Bernard Egozi, with Egozi & Bennett, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Most of the award, $4.85 million, is punitive damages.
Investor Adam Lubkin, who lost an undisclosed amount of money in the deal, welcomed Judge Freeman’s ruling but wants more.
“Frankly, we all just want our money back,” he said. “[Timinsky’s] actions were very blatant. His actions had nothing to do with the real estate market. His actions had to do with greed.”
The Timinsky case is another in a list of similar cases involving players with ties to South Florida, where investors have alleged fraud. The most high profile cases include former part-time Palm Beach resident Bernie Madoff, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein, Miami Beach businessman and philanthropist Nevin Shapiro and financier R. Allen Stanford.
Timinksy has not been charged with a crime.
“When the market crashed, a lot of the wrong doing was uncovered,” Lichter said. “Unfortunately, there seems to be a very disturbing and active trend of investors who put their faith on people who make promises … and then disappear with the client’s money.”
Paola Iuspa-Abbott can be reached at (305) 347-6657.
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