SPECIAL LEFEVER/MATTSON ISSUE

Photo by Kent Porter / The Press Democrat
Story by Phil Barber, Press Democrat.
Here is an excerpt
”Lawyers in the bankruptcy cases tied to indicted Sonoma real estate mogul Ken Mattson were especially busy in mid-October, filing a flurry of court documents that lay out a roadmap for compensating the many people left owed by Mattson’s troubled investment businesses — including the mom-and-pop investors who financed more than 200 property acquisitions and now find their financial futures in jeopardy.”
You can read the whole article here
Bankruptcy panel in Ken Mattson cases reaches settlement with lender Socotra Capital, but overall plan likely to leave investors short
In conjunction with this story, our own David Eichar and Josette Brose Eichar have continued to do their own investigating as well. Here is some further information you may want to know.

LeFever Mattson Donations to Right Wing Organizations

As Wake UP Sonoma suspected for some time - really since almost the beginning, money has flowed from the LeFever Mattson empire to extremist right-wing organizations. At this point, those that are known are: Capital Resource Institute CRI Landing Page , Youth for Christ Ministries Sacramento, YFC Sacramento and Sonoma Collective - Sonoma Collective Church, a fundamentalist Christian church

The extremist right-wing connections are finally being officially uncovered. According to bankruptcy court documents, Tim LeFever is Chairman of the Board of Capital Resource Institute and Youth for Christ Ministries Sacramento. Sonoma Collective is a fundamentalist Christian church which Ken Mattson helped to establish in Sonoma and whose office is located in one of LeFever Mattson company’s properties. According to the document regarding Sonoma Collective, "Founder and Founder's in-laws are prior employees of Pineapple Bear."  (Pineapple Bear is a company started by Ken Mattson to run the hospitality businesses in Sonoma Valley, including the General's Daughter, Depot Restaurant and, “An Inn To Remember”).

From 2022 to 2024, the LeFever Mattson company donated more than $35,000 to Capital Resource Institute, $75,000 to Youth for Christ Ministries Sacramento, and $12,000 to Sonoma Collective.

Capital Resource Institute backed the California ballot measure to ban same sex marriage. Sonoma Collective believes “in the historically Christian view of marriage and sexual expression; namely, that marriage is a lifelong one-flesh covenant union between two sexually different persons (male and female) from different families, and that all sexual relationships and expressions outside of marriage are a sin.”

Youth for Christ Ministries has anti-LGBTQ policies, including refusing to give permission to hire a lesbian "for a government-subsidized dance program run in the same Youth For Christ complex" in Winnipeg, Canada. To work at Youth for Christ, "staff are required to sign a statement promising to uphold the belief that marriage is a 'union between one man and one woman.'" The CFC Youth for Christ - Youth Camp Manual calls homosexual acts a "sexual sin".

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors is seeking documents from 2 of these organizations to gain more information about the thousands of dollars paid to them. "The Committee’s discovery is targeted to uncover information about those gifts and potentially undisclosed, avoidable transfers" of LeFever Mattson companies’ assets to the organizations. The committee writes “these Self-Serving Transactions depleted the (LeFever Mattson companies) assets to the detriment of their unsecured creditors" and" the bankrupt companies’ "assets that were improperly transferred to Capital Resource Institute”.

One court document, the First-Day Declaration of Bradley Sharp, the Chief Restructuring Officer of the LeFever Mattson and affiliated companies in bankruptcy, states Ken Mattson “appears to have used LeFever Mattson to facilitate a years-long campaign of self-serving transactions, many of which were not recorded in the books and records of" LeFever Mattson "or any of their associated LPs or LLCs"
Resources for this article can be sent upon request.

MORE INFORMATION ON LEFEVER/MATTSON BANKRUPTCY CASE

Several recent bankruptcy court documents bring to light some of the details of what Ken Mattson and Tim LeFever were up to. These documents contain facts and allegations concerning the companies in bankruptcy.

Money Transferred from Limited Partnership Just Before Bankruptcy

Ken Mattson was removed from LeFever Mattson company April 1, 2024 and Tim LeFever took over. On June 28, 2024, LeFever Mattson, General Manager and one of the partners in Live Oak Investment LP, asked Live Oak partners to sell it’s one investment property, an apartment building. Ken Mattson was still president of Live Oak at this time. The apartment building sold on August 29, 2024 for $10,800,000, with a net amount after paying of loans and expenses of $3,971,116.96.

The money was deposited into a Live Oak bank account on September 4, 2024. Live Oak alleges that on that same day transfers were made from the Live Oak bank account into a LeFever Mattson bank account, to the tune of $2,366,418. Tim LeFever was in control of LeFever Mattson at this time. LeFever Mattson "maintains this represents the 21.214% ownership interest" plus 3% sale commission. (If you do the calculation, the total should only be $1,328,024 not $2,366,418, though this was not mentioned in the court document.)

The money was transferred without the approval of or notification to the other partners. According to the partnership agreement, "no partner is to receive preference over any other".  The other partners argue that all partners should have received their share at the same time. This transfer to only LeFever Mattson and not the other partners would not have been such a big problem, except that "eight days after making these transfers, on September 12, 2024" LeFever Mattson filed the bankruptcy for Oak Live along with 57 other companies.

LeFever Mattson "was fully aware it would be filing a bankruptcy petition for (Live Oak) immediately after transferring the funds to itself. For that reason, the bankruptcy filings were part of a common plan or scheme carried out by (LeFever Mattson) to benefit itself and Mattson by first acquiring the funds and then preventing any challenge to these transfers due to the bankruptcy filings."

"The transfers and subsequent bankruptcy filing carried out by (LeFever Mattson) was also clearly improper as (Live Oak) was solvent at all times."

Partners of Live Oak have asked the court to remove Live Oak from bankruptcy and to return the money taken from it on September 4, 2024, as well as to be paid for attorney fees.
Resources for this article can be sent upon request.
________________________________________________________

Ken Mattson Use of Company Money for Criminal Defense Attorney

One bankruptcy court document alleges Ken Mattson used KS Mattson Partners (KSMP) money to pay a defense attorney $500,000 to represent him in criminal cases. 

"Mr. Mattson has filed sworn statements in his criminal case stating that at the outset of (the attorney's) representation of Mattson, Mattson paid her a retainer of $500,000." Ken Mattson declared, "'I paid a retainer to my counsel, Randy Sue Pollock, in the amount of $500,000 at the outset of her representation of me.'"

"Mattson, however, did not make this payment from his personal funds. Instead, an examination of KSMP’s bank records show that on May 10, 2024, KSMP wired the Fraudulent Retainer Payment from KSMP’s bank account ... to (Pollock's) bank account .... Mattson controlled KSMP when the Fraudulent Retainer Payment was made." Now in bankruptcy, KS Mattson Partners, no longer controlled by Ken Mattson, is asking the bankruptcy court to order the attorney to return the $500,000.
Resources for this article can be sent upon request.

Multiple Property Transfers Benefitted Tim LeFever?
Production of Documents By the Laurel Wreath Foundation
Check out the foundation here:
Laurel Wreath Foundation Inc · Timothy J Lefever · 8009 Doyle Lane, Dixon, CA 95620

One court document indicates that Tim LeFever may be involved in transactions to his benefit in detriment to investors. According to the investigation of The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, six months before bankruptcy was filed, in February 2024, one property was transferred from LeFever Mattson to Tim LeFever. Just weeks later, Tim LeFever transferred the property to The Laurel Wreath Foundation, Inc, "in which Mr. LeFever is believed to have been substantially involved since its incorporation". Within two weeks after that transfer, the Foundation then transferred the property to Red Cedar Tree, LP, one of the LeFever Mattson associated companies in bankruptcy.

Laural Wreath is not one of the LeFever Mattson associated companies in bankruptcy. The "Foundation may have possession of documents that will assist the Committee in evaluating the Mr. LeFever’s role, and potential the benefit to him or his interests, in the three transfers of the ... Property; and the potential (avoidable) transfers of property of the" LeFever Mattson associated companies in bankruptcy to the Foundation.
Resources for this article can be sent upon request.

Come slay, stay spooky, and support the resistance,
all in one night.
Slay O’Ween at Bloom Carneros, Oct. 31

Bloom Carneros will host a 1980s-themed Halloween dance party from 7-10 p.m., Oct. 31, at the Sonoma restaurant. The 21-and-over event will include costume contests, DJ HurryKane spinning ’80s dance music and drag performances by San Francisco performer Lydia Darling. Proceeds benefit Wake up Sonoma. Tickets are $30 and available on Eventbrite. Bloom Carneros, 22910 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-412-0438, bloomcarneros.com

DON’T FORGET TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!!

JUST ADDED, DRAG QUEEN PERFORMANCES WITH WINE SPONSOR SIXTEEN 600! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Press Democrat News Group
Let’s Do the Time Warp Again!

Sonoma Valley Pride Hosts A Screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Sebastiani Theatre for 50th Anniversary
Sponsored by Wake UP Sonoma, Matthew Long Design and Out In The Vineyards

Sonoma Valley Pride is inviting the community to celebrate a cult classic in true over-the-top style! On Saturday, November 8, the historic Sebastiani Theatre will host a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. Doors open at 7:00 PM, with a costume contest kicking off at 7:30 PM, where prizes will be awarded to the best dressed of the night. The movie screening will start at 8:00 PM.

The night promises outrageous fun and plenty of audience participation. Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite characters from the beloved midnight movie.

“This event is more than just a movie screening—it’s a celebration of queer joy, camp, and community,” said Matthew Long of Sonoma Valley Pride. “We’re thrilled to bring Rocky Horror to the Sebastiani Theatre which first showed the film 35 years ago., We can’t think of a better way to mark its 50th anniversary than by doing the ‘Time Warp’ together in Sonoma Valley.”

Proceeds from the evening will benefit Sonoma Valley Pride and its mission to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community through inclusive programming, visibility, and local partnerships.

Our Vision: To foster a vibrant, just, respectful and welcoming Sonoma Valley community.

OUR MISSION IS TO:
EDUCATE - by providing resources to Sonoma Valley residents to be informed and engaged.
ADVOCATE - for local diversity, equity, inclusion, civic and corporate transparency.
ACTIVATE - by promoting democracy and providing opportunities for local engagement.

We Educate. Advocate. Activate.
on issues related, but not limited to:
- LGBTQIA+ safety and visibility
- Protection of our immigrant population
- Defense against Christian Nationalism
- Transparency in large corporate investment and responsible development
- Active local civic engagement