LEFEVER/MATTSON UPDATE
On April 2 there was a town hall for LeFever Mattson investors. At that time anyone who wanted to hear what is going on with the LeFever Mattson bankruptcy and investor claims could also register and attend this Zoom presentation.
The picture painted by the attorneys handling the LeFever Mattson bankruptcy, forensic accountants and real estate professionals, is one of great complexity. The work they are doing has taken a long time and there is still more to do. The goal of all of these professionals is to document all investor claims and dollar amounts, to trace and catalog all of the money flowing into and out of LeFever Mattson’s account, and to freeze and hold all assets and funds so that those that have lost money can be reimbursed as fully as possible. They are still investigating if it is a Ponzi scheme or not. Analysis of the main bank account indicates Investor funds are commingled. Investors were advised to file a tax extension, as LeFever Mattson is delaying sending out tax documents that report investor’s income.
At this point they project that a distribution plan will be ready late summer or early fall.
Several real estate firms will begin selling the LeFever Mattson owned properties, in stages, as not to flood the market and get maximum profit to put into the pool of funds to repay the investors and other claimants for their losses.
As these properties are listed for sale this will be the procedure followed by the realtors listing the properties.
PROCESS TIMELINE FOR PROPERTIES:
This is a court-supervised sale and will be subject to court approval before it is allowed to close.
1) Go live in the MLS or other listing platform
2) Market the property for at least 21 Days
3) Receive and negotiate offers during and immediately following marketing period;
4) Select best offer and enter PSA
5) Open escrow and start due diligence/inspections
6) Remove contingencies within the negotiated due diligence period.
7) File the Notice of Sale with Bankruptcy Court and start 21-day review period
8) Offer approved by Court
9) 14-day appeals period
10) Close of Escrow process begins
11) Escrow closed
Note: This assumes that there are no objections to the sale and no stalking horse/overbids.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO STILL WANT TO FREQUENT MATTSON OWNED BUSINESSES, EG DEPOT HOTEL - Pineapple Bear, doing business as Sonoma’s Best Hospitality Group runs the hospitality businesses, including Depot Hotel Restaurant, 7 Branches, and the General’s Daughter, an Inn to Remember, and the Cornerstone event business. LeFever/ Mattson as Pineapple Bear has and continues to draw money out to keep the hospitality businesses up and running. They have long operated at a loss, and the money to cover this may have come from the pool of money supplied by the investors. LeFever Mattson has asked the bankruptcy court to continue subsidizing Pineapple Bear’s hospitality businesses, arguing that closing down Pineapple Bear would damage the reputation of the businesses and reduce the value of the properties where Pineapple Bear is doing business. As of April 15, 2025 LeFever Mattson has loaned Pineapple Bear $1.5 million.
AND SO - OF SIGNIFICANCE!! - As LeFever Mattson continues to draw money from the pool of funds in the bankruptcy proceeding, it decreases the amount of money that can be repaid to the investors. The best case scenario for these businesses is if the buyers of the property that the businesses reside in also purchase the businesses, as Chris Fannini has for the Cheese Factory and Sonoma’s Best Deli and Cottages.
KS Mattson Partners IS owned by Ken & Stacy Mattson and is not a part of the bankruptcy proceedings of LeFever Mattson. The major issue is to force KS Mattson also into bankruptcy, so that the courts can oversee these funds and assets as they are doing for LeFever Mattson funds and assets and assure that Ken and Stacy Mattson do not use and deplete these funds until all the investors and others owed money are repaid. At this point Ken and Stacy Mattson as the sole owners of KS Mattson could take money from the KS Mattson funds and assets as they are not under the supervision of the bankruptcy court. For instance KS Mattson could sell property and keep and spend the funds, even though this money is owed to investors or other parties.
This latest article by Phil Barber in both the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Sonoma Index Tribune, provides in-depth detail on where the LeFever Mattson and KS Mattson saga are today.
https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/ken-mattson-sonoma-real-estate-fbi-investigation/
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/ken-mattson-sonoma-real-estate-fbi-investigation/