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Celeb Ponzi Schemer Kenneth Starr Pleads Guilty
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 10, 2010
Modified Sep 10, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 10, 2010
Modified Sep 10, 2010
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Kenneth Starr, whom the Times describes as a "former hotshot money manager whose clients included Hollywood celebrities," has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and investment advisor fraud. Starr's $60 million Ponzi scheme was fueled by the wealth of stars including Uma Thurman, Al Pacino, and Sylvester Stallone, who finally sued Starr for advising him to keep his investment in Planet Hollywood while Starr was also telling other clients the chain was going bankrupt.
Starr's plea deal will guarantee him a 10 to 12-year prison sentence, and he's required to make $50 million in restitution and sell his luxury Upper East Side condo, where feds found him hiding in a closet on the day they came to arrest him. "Instead of using my clients' money as I promised, I knowingly used it for my own purposes," Starr, 66, told Manhattan Federal Magistrate Theodore Katz today, according to the Daily News.
Outside the courtroom, Starr's attorney, Flora Edwards, told reporters, "He's accepted responsibility for what he did. He's committed a horrendous error in judgement. This was truly a horrendous error. I don't think it was greed. He made a real bad mistake... and he's deeply sorry for it."
Tagged
diane passage
kenneth starr
ponzi scheme
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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