5 States Recover More Assets In Frankel Fraud Case

January 16, 2008 at 02:00 PM

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The Internal Revenue Service is distributing to 5 states around $72 million raised from seized assets of convicted embezzler Martin Frankel.

A Federal Court in Connecticut recently ordered that the funds and assets be turned over to receivers in the 5 states, where 7 Frankel-owned insurance companies had been based. Frankel fled the country in 1999 and was apprehended in Germany in 2000. In 2002, he was convicted of fleecing the companies out of more than $200 million.

Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Missouri will split the seized assets. Most of the funds would be paid to creditors of the insurers, according to regulators in the states.

The Federal forfeitures bring the total recovery by the receivers to around $126 million, the Arkansas Insurance Department reports.

The assets included funds raised from the sales of Frankel's 2 homes in Connecticut, the auction of 21 automobiles, seized bank accounts and the sale of jewels Frankel owned.

The houses fetched about $5.2 million, while the automobiles, plus a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, brought in another $757,000, the IRS says.

In 2004, the sale of 570 diamonds Frankel had with him when he was arrested raised about $9 million, according to the U.S. attorney's office in New Haven.

In October, regulators from the 5 states auctioned additional jewels seized from Frankel on E-bay, the online auction.

Arkansas's Department of Insurance reports its share of assets turned over by the IRS totaled $1.3 million, while Oklahoma's DOI says it will collect around $3.8 million and Missouri reports its share would be around $12.8 million..

At press time, Mississippi and Tennessee had not reported their share.

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