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Posted by Iannucci | 12/09/2007 | 1 comments »
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This is a bit of a head scratcher, so if you have anything to add to this about this please let us all know. Or even better, inform the authorities.

From his waterfront estate on Hibiscus Island, Edward Okun oversaw one of the nation's fastest-growing tax-shelter companies -- a haven for wealthy investors looking to save big money on real-estate ventures.

The flashy 59-year-old businessman amassed a reported personal fortune of $659 million -- with all the trappings: a 130-foot yacht, a fleet of luxury cars, a helicopter and several private jets. But the empire Okun built is now unraveling amid a federal investigation, lawsuits and claims by hundreds of investors who say they were fleeced of $160 million in one of the largest business collapses of its kind.

They claim he spent millions buying personal properties like his lavish, $23 million home in New Hampshire, a 130-foot yacht named after his 29-year-old wife, who until recently owned a beauty salon in Miami Beach.

Other assets, as reported by the couple in a financial statement in May: three jet aircraft, a helicopter, a 38-foot Cigarette boat, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley Continental, Land Rover, Aston Martin and four Indy cars. A racing enthusiast, Okun sponsored IndyCar drivers for the team of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt last year.

(MORE from Miami Herald)

1 comments

  1. Anonymous // December 10, 2007 6:17 AM  

    I wouldn't worry... AJ'll hunt 'em down in his bulldozer.