Andrew Wiederhorn
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Andrew Wiederhorn (born 1965) is an American businessman living in Portland, Oregon. He founded Wilshire Credit Corporation and served as its CEO, by the age of 32 amassing a fortune estimated to be worth $140 million.[1] Currently he is CEO and majority shareholder in Fog Cutter Capital, which had been listed for a time on NASDAQ (ticker symbol FCCG).
Wiederhorn founded Fog Cutter Capital after the collapse of Wilshire Credit Corporation following questionable investments involving union retirement funds.[2] However, US law enforcement continued a criminal investigation into Wiederhorn's activities while at Wilshire Credit, which was ended when Wiederhorn pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and paying Jeffrey Grayson, the head of Capital Consultants, an "illegal gratuity" in return for a 12-month sentence and payment of $4.6 million in fines.[3]
The controversy around Wiederhorn continued when the board of directors of Fog Cutter voted to give Wiederhorn a bonus equal to the fine he paid the US government, and paid his salary during his incarceration -- despite Federal rules that a convict can not engage in business dealings while imprisoned. The immediate result was that NASDAQ delisted Fog Cutter; since 14 October 2004 the corporation's shares have been traded on the pink sheets.[4] In addition Ernst & Young, the company's independent auditors, quit on 16 July 2004; the company has since hired a local auditing firm to audit its books.
The long-term result was that Wiederhorn had his membership in the influential Multnomah Athletic Club suspended in October 2004. The Wall Street Journal described the Club as "the premier social center for executives, politicians and socialities in this city of more than half a million."[5] After finishing his sentence, Wiederhorn has initiated a legal fight against the Club, claiming that it has treated him unfairly and that other Multnomah Athletic Club members who have committed crimes were not disciplined as harshly as him. One example he cited was his former business associate Lawrence Mendelsohn, who pleaded guilty in the same case involving Capital Consultants, but served no jail time.[6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Nigel Jacquiss "Ask Andrew Wiederhorn" (Willamette Week, article originally published 13 January, 1999
- ^ Jeff Manning and James Long "Union Trusts Sue For Lost Money", reprint of The Oregonian article originally published 30 September, 2000.
- ^ Elizabeth MacDonald, "Town without Pity", Forbes, originally published 5 June 2006.
- ^ Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. Announces Status of Nasdaq Listing Appeal Business Wire, Feb 27, 2005 (LookSmart's FindArticles)
- ^ Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, "How Not to Curry Favor With a Club: Say It's Full of Crooks", Wall Street Journal, 22 May 2006, national ed.:A1+.
- ^ Dugan, "How Not to Curry Favor", p. A9.
