Securities division investigating Pahrump developer
State securities investigators are hot on the trail of bankrupt Pahrump developer Hans Seibt.
Carolyn Ellsworth, administrator of the Nevada Secretary of State’s Securities Division, confirms her office is conducting a fraud investigation of Seibt.
Ellsworth would not comment on the investigation, but sources say the secretary of state is wrapping up its case against Seibt.
Lenard Schwartzer, the trustee overseeing Seibt’s bankruptcy, has alleged his financial dealings resembled a classic Ponzi scheme. Hundreds of people, many of them seniors, lost their life savings investing with Seibt.
When Seibt filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, he listed $70 million in liabilities and only $15 million in assets.
Scwartzer, who has the task of trying to gather what’s left of Seibt’s assets and distribute them to his creditors, says the Seibt case is similar to the case of imprisoned Wall Street broker Bernie Madoff in New York, only on a much smaller scale.
Schwartzer holds out little hope the investors will get much of their money back.
"My job will be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," he says. "There’s just no money there."
The investors, however, may find some comfort if the Securities Division takes action against Seibt.
