Ken Mattson and his business partner amassed a $400 million real estate empire. It has come crashing down in a heap of lawsuits, bankruptcies, and now his indictment.
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Sonoma developer and real estate investor Ken Mattson was arrested by the FBI Thursday morning just as a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mattson, 63, was hit with a total of nine felony counts of wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice in what federal prosecutors alleged was a long-running “Ponzi scheme” to defraud investors, stretching back at least 16 years.
Who is Ken Mattson?
In the past decade, Ken Mattson, along with his longtime business partner and high school friend Tim LeFever, amassed a California real estate empire valued at about $400 million, including one of the largest portfolios in Sonoma County, boasting at least 120 commercial and residential properties.
The pace and scale of the acquisitions drew community scrutiny, especially as some of the properties were left dormant or in disrepair years, spurring backlash from a neighborhood activist group called Wake Up Sonoma over what they saw as a shadowy land grab.
What happened?
Mattson, LeFever and their companies had accumulated a trail of lawsuits over the past quarter century, not entirely unusual for large developers and property owners.
But the plot thickened about a year ago when LeFever accused Mattson of selling nonexistent investment stakes and diverting $75 million into personal accounts. Mattson has denied the claims.
A half dozen lawsuits have since been filed against both men and their bankrupt partnership, LeFever Matson Inc., on behalf of scores of investors, many of them elderly and of modest means, whose money bankrolled property purchases without the promised ownership stake in return, according to federal prosecutors.
LeFever and Mattson also have sued and countersued each other.
Where do things stand?
The May 13 grand jury indictment is the result of a joint investigation across federal agencies, spanning the FBI, IRS, U.S. Postal Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mattson faces seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and another count of obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying more than 10,000 files amid the federal investigation. Eight of the nine counts come with a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The single count of money laundering carries a max sentence of up to 10 years. If convicted, Mattson also could have to forfeit several properties and pay restitution.
Neither LeFever nor Mattson’s wife, Stacy Mattson, who is also involved in one of the businesses under scrutiny, are named in the indictment.
FBI agents arrested Mattson in a parking lot outside a Napa gym early Thursday morning.
You can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On X (formerly Twitter) @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.