SUMMERFIELD — Neighbors and a court-appointed receiver are worried that beleaguered financial adviser Stan Kowalewski has raised money by selling off kitchen cabinets, interior doors, light fixtures and other structural elements of his $1.7 million home.
Neighbors in the upscale Henson Farm neighborhood say Kowalewski held several weekend “estate sales” during the past month or so, apparently in connection with moving his family recently to Pawleys Island, S.C.
The most recent sale took place Saturday. The people running it said only moveable household furnishings such as dressers were for sale.
“It’s a problem because I have seen kitchen cabinets and all kinds of stuff that you would normally associate with an existing house being taken out,” said Peter Heineman, who lives near Kowalewski and serves on the neighborhood association’s board.“It’s one of the better properties in the neighborhood, then they leave us with the burden of disposing of a house that’s been compromised.”
The house is covered by an asset freeze the Securities and Exchange Commission placed on Kowalewski as part of a multimillion dollar lawsuit against him for “investment advisory fraud.” Presumably, the house on Henson Farm Road could be sold to recoup part of the $8.6 million in investor money Kowalewski allegedly misappropriated.
Kowalewski, best known locally as a sometimes controversial high school basketball coach, did not return a telephone call Sunday.
The SEC won its civil lawsuit against Kowalewski in late June when he settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing. He also explicitly forfeited his right to dispute the charges when a federal judge metes out punishment.
The SEC wants him to repay $8.6 million, plus a fine that could range from a few hundred thousand dollars to $67 million.
A lawyer for the court-appointed receiver said Sunday he recently learned the house might have been stripped of some structural elements. He was concerned enough to hire a local private investigator, said Atlanta lawyer David Dantzler.
Dantzler said receiver S. Gregory Hays became concerned last week after learning that Kowalewski canceled his homeowner’s insurance on the
four-bedroom, five-bath house of brick and stone, built in 2005.
The private eye couldn’t get inside Sunday, but noticed that an exterior screen door and at least one outside light fixture had been removed — leaving a hole and exposed wiring where the base had been, said Dantzler, who represents Hays.
“We have made a demand on the Kowalewskis (Sunday) through their attorney that they provide us with a complete accounting,” Dantzler said, adding that he and Hays want to know what has been sold, who bought it, where it is now and how much the Kowalewskis reaped.
Kowalewski was not present at the “estate sale” Saturday morning, an event advertised with a handwritten sign in front of the expansive lakeside house with two fireplaces and an outdoor pool.
The people running the sale declined to identify themselves and asked a reporter to leave and not take pictures.
Throughout the morning, neighbors and bargain hunters dropped by to check out two garages of furniture bearing price tags.
Saturday’s sale was roughly the fourth such event in recent weeks, said Russ Stellfox, who lives directly across the street.
“I have seen where it looked like they were taking doors out of the house,” said Stellfox. “He (Kowalewski) told me they’d rented a house down in Pawleys Island. I know that he’s looking at a couple business deals down there because he’s tried to get some of the people around here to invest with him.”
Another neighbor called Stellfox’s attention to doors being removed from the house in recent weeks, Stellfox said.
“He said, ‘It looks like they’re pulling every door in the house out.’ ”
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