Will Hoover

As I was reading about the failure of Washington Mutual, I remembered a Ponzi scheme in Denver that they were innocently involved in a few years ago. I worked for one of the Bankruptcy attorneys representing the Trustee of the estate. One of my jobs was to sort the endless documents that were used to attempt to cover this guys tracks. Curious, I googled his name and lo and behold, four years later he's still making headlines.

Though former Denver financial adviser Will Hoover is sitting in prison in Sterling with a 100-year sentence for racketeering, theft and securities fraud, some family members have fresh legal burdens.

The Chapter 7 trustees in Hoover's personal and legal bankruptcies have filed a lawsuit, recently transferred to Denver federal court, that asks to nullify and obtain judgments against four Hoover family members for $527,548 in transfers made within four years of the bankruptcy filings.

A separate lawsuit in federal court goes after an $8,000 payment made to the photographer at the wedding of Hoover's daughter, Kim.

Jeanne Jagow, the trustee in Hoover's personal bankruptcy, and Daniel Hepner, the trustee in the bankruptcy of The Will Hoover Co., charge that:

Katie Galpin, Hoover's sister living in Wimberley, Texas, received $224,622 from Hoover or his company within four years of the personal and business bankruptcy filings, of which $40,583 was made within one year of the filings.

Michael Hoover, Hoover's brother living in Charlotte, N.C., received $33,050 within four years of the filings and $10,050 within one year of the filings.

Kim Wyatt (formerly Kim Hoover), Hoover's daughter living in Orange, Calif., received $185,658 within four years of the filings and $119,215 within one year of them.

Mark Hoover, Hoover's son living in Laguna Hills, Calif., received $84,218 within four years of the filings and $22,679 within one year of them.

Hoover and his company -- which were operating a Ponzi scheme in which early investors were paid mainly with funds from later investors -- "lavished their ill-gotten gains upon Defendants, who are members of Hoover's immediate family," says the lawsuit.

Separate federal statutes are cited with regard to obtaining judgments on the transfers within one year versus four years of the filings. But in both cases, the lawsuit charges "intent to hinder, delay, or defraud other entities" that were owed or would be owed money.

Hoover's wife, Georgeann Hoover, is a defendant in a separate lawsuit that charges fraudulent conveyance of a house in Gig Harbor, Wash., and other assets. She has requested a jury trial. Galpin, Wyatt and Mark Hoover filed a Nov. 24 answer as defendants in their lawsuit that also requests a jury trial, which has the effect of transferring the case to federal district court from bankruptcy court.

The thing that is truly amazing about this guy is he honestly didn't believe he was committing a crime and his clients would be paid back. From where remains a mystery.