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February 8, 2010, 09:00 AM ET
Opera Benefactor Vilar Sentenced to Nine Years for Fraud
Alberto W. Vilar, an arts patron whose name once graced prominent spots at opera houses in New York and London, was sentenced February 5 to nine years in prison for fraud, The New York Times reports.
Mr. Vilar, a partner in the financial company Amerindo Investment Advisors, was convicted in 2008 of defrauding clients out of $22-million by spending money pledged to stable investments on risky technology stocks instead.
Prosecutors said the scheme fell apart in 2002 when Mr. Vilar was unable to make promised donations to opera houses in Chicago, New York, and Washington. Before that, he had given more than $100-million to arts causes, and the Metropolitan Opera's grand tier and the Floral Hall at London's Royal Opera House were both named for him. Those institutions have since removed his name.
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Comments
1. wpfaeffle - February 09, 2010 at 05:52 am
This is not the end of the process. Mr Vilar intends to appeal against the verdict. Not even the prosecutor could prove in court that Mr. Vilar intentionally defrauded investors. It also was revealed during Friday's sentencing hearing that there is plenty of money in various Amerindo bank accounts to make up the losses -- $47 million against claims of $21 million. So where are the victims? It seems the only party that squandered money in this case is the government. The so called victims who testified against Mr Vilar were tax cheats (read the record), but were given immunity from prosecution if they testified against Mr. Vilar and his partner. The tax payer lost millions in tax receipts, interest and penalties, let alone the cost of the trial. The Board of the Vail Performing Arts Center is to be commended for their courage to keep Mr Vilar's name in place,
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