Pawing through the office of commodity broker Robert Besner late last week, a bankruptcy trustee happened upon an unusual find–a wad of eight $50 bills stuffed into a desk drawer.
It was a curious discovery, though hardly significant in the minds of the investors who say Besner defrauded them out of as much as $4 million.
Yet it underscores the frustration of investors and federal investigators who are trying to piece together what happened to the millions that were invested with Besner and that have seemingly vanished.
So far there have been few clues about whether the money disappeared because of bad trades or whether, as some believe, it was moved into offshore bank accounts in an elaborate scheme to hide the money.
Besner has provided few answers. He disappeared in mid-December amid allegations from former employees and investors that he and his wife, Melody, were converting client funds for their own use.
His lawyers subsequently have said that Besner is fully cooperating with all investigations. A criminal investigation continues, although Besner has been charged with no wrongdoing.
Besner faces civil suits from investors who say the trader befriended them, then lured them with promises of returns of as much as 40 percent on their investments, only to make off with their money.
In January, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Besner and New Forest Capital Management Inc., the firm he operated out of his Northbrook home. The commission alleged that Besner cheated investors, providing them with statements misrepresenting the value of their accounts. The agency also said it couldn’t account for $2.2 million invested with New Forest.
Besner’s troubles multiplied when several investors brought an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Besner and New Forest.
Although Besner’s assets have been frozen by court order, some of the investors say they are frustrated by the pace of the investigation.
“It has been an amazing lesson in how little protection investors and citizens have from white-collar crime and how little interest any of the agencies take in working on behalf of aggrieved investors,” said Paul Obis, an Oak Park investor who is trying to recover the $375,000 he invested with Besner.
Friday, Melody Besner resurfaced at the couple’s lavish home without her husband. Under the watchful eye of the bankruptcy trustee, some of the couple’s belongings were loaded onto a moving truck, though some of the more valuable items such as furniture, televisions and stereos were left behind.
While that property, like the wad of bills, may prove of little value, they so far have proven to be about the only assets that may be tapped to compensate any creditors.
Even the Northbrook home may prove worthless. Pamela Hollis, the lawyer who has been appointed the interim bankruptcy trustee in the case, said the house has been appraised at $500,000 but carries a mortgage of $636,000.
The Besners’ troubles grew further still on Friday when the Internal Revenue Service slapped a lien on the home. According to county records, the IRS says Melody Besner owes more than $164,000 in back taxes.
Neither Besner nor his attorneys could be reached for comment. Melody Besner declined to comment.
Hollis said Monday the visit to the house proved fruitful in one sense. She said computer records found in Besner’s office included what appears to be a list of some 20 customers for whom Besner was doing trading but who previously hadn’t been identified.
Curiously, she said, the list didn’t include any of the individuals who have said they were defrauded by Besner.
Hollis also said Monday that Besner has so far refused to file statements of his assets and liabilities in bankruptcy proceedings in federal court, claiming his 5th Amendment rights.
“All the people who knew him loved him,” said Ronald Rudman, a Colorado lawyer and longtime friend, who first met Besner when the trader was a student at Boston University and Rudman was attending Brandeis University.
“When my wife wanted to go back to school, I remember talking to him about it, and the next thing I know, a check arrives in the mail, no questions asked.”
Rudman also has become enmeshed in the case by virtue of investments he made with Besner.
Because Rudman’s legal specialty is offshore asset protection, other investors are skeptical of the attorney and are planning to take his deposition to determine whether he somehow aided Besner.
Rudman said that he is only a victim.
