Paul Ebeling arrested. Read it here....
Tridon CEO Ebeling Arrested for Fraud in Sinking of Yacht
Beverly Hills, April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Paul Ebeling, chief executive of Tridon Enterprises Inc. -- a high-tech toupee developer -- was arrested by federal agents on charges that he and an accomplice sank a yacht off the Italian coast in 1992 to defraud an insurance unit of Cigna Corp.
Ebeling, 59, of Beverly Hills, and Rex K. DeGeorge, 62, a Beverly Hills attorney, were arrested yesterday. They were named in a 14-count indictment returned by a Los Angeles grand jury in January. It was unsealed yesterday.
The men allegedly conspired to buy a $1.9 million, 76-foot ship, the Principe di Pictor. After insuring it for $3.5 million, they allegedly sank it on its maiden voyage off the coast of Naples on Nov. 7, 1992.
Ebeling resigned as president of Tridon after his arrest, said Kevin Welch, interim president.
''This matter is not related to the company's current business plan to become an international telecommunications carrier,'' he said. The toupee company announced a $303.4 million telecom contract earlier this month, as part of its plan to become a long-distance service provider.
Ebeling and DeGeorge allegedly cut holes in the hull and abandoned ship. They were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard. The men claimed their boat was hijacked by three drug runners, led by a ''Captain Libovich,'' who locked them in a cabin and sank the boat. Ebeling and DeGeorge claimed the pirates then left in a speedboat to evade the Italian Navy.
Cigna Property Insurance and Casualty Insurance Co. refused to pay off on its policy, saying the men made false statements in connection with the claim.
Charges
The defendants were both charged with three counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to destroy the ship and one count of destroying the ship. Each was also individually charged with one count of perjury.
DeGeorge allegedly had previously collected insurance money after the loss of three other boats he claimed were accidentally lost at sea. Ebeling was the sole witness on board one of those ships, prosecutors said.
Ebeling was arrested at his Beverly Hills home last night, and today was ordered held without bail until a detention hearing on Friday. DeGeorge was arrested in New York at John F. Kennedy airport after arriving on a flight from Greece, where he's lived for the past year. A magistrate has ordered him returned to Los Angeles to face the charges.
Neither defendant was immediately available for comment. Welch said Ebeling's 24 percent ownership of Tridon will be placed in a trust until his legal problems are resolved.
Two weeks ago, Ebeling was asked how Tridon, with a market value of $26 million but a negative net worth of $56,465, was able to survive.
''I loan this company whatever it needs,'' he said.
Apr/20/1999 22:21 |
