FBI agents arrested disgraced real estate investor Ken Mattson in a Napa parking lot early Thursday morning, according to two sources who requested anonymity.
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FBI agents arrested disgraced real estate investor Ken Mattson in a Napa parking lot early Thursday morning, according to two sources who requested anonymity, apparently closing the curtain on a year-long legal saga that included public accusations, lawsuits, bankruptcy filings and at least one raid of his home in Sonoma.
The FBI has been investigating Mattson since last year. The Press Democrat later reported he was the subject of a federal grand jury.
According to one person who witnessed the arrest, it occurred just before 8 a.m., as a class assembled at the Orangetheory gym off California Boulevard. Mattson had been attending the class regularly. At least a half-dozen agents seized Mattson, 63, handcuffed him and put him into a waiting van. His car was towed from the lot as other gym members looked on in shock.
The FBI did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation.
The Napa Valley Register first reported the arrest, based on anonymous witnesses.
Mattson, with a longtime business partner, helmed a California real estate empire that at its peak was valued at more than $400 million, spanning more than 100 residential and commercial properties acquired over the past decade in and around Sonoma in what amounted to unprecedented buying spree.
Mattson’s public travails began roughly a year ago, when Tim LeFever, a childhood friend and longtime business partner for decades, accused him of selling nonexistent investment interests and diverting $75 million into his personal accounts, allegations that Mattson has rejected.
Since then, the two men have been the subject of a half-dozen lawsuits— not including countersuits filed against one another— and LeFever Mattson Inc. has plunged into Chapter 11.
Some investors have told The Press Democrat they had their life savings wrapped up in Mattson’s investments.
Mattson’s own business, KS Mattson Partners, has managed to sidestep bankruptcy so far.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.