Michael Vick adviser accused of helping swindle $500,000

The man Michael Vick picked to help him navigate bankruptcy has been accused of helping swindle more than $500,000 from church members in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities filed a civil complaint Friday that accuses David A. Talbot and two other men of spending more than $500,000 from investors on themselves.

The complaint says the men appealed to investors' religious beliefs by telling some of them the money would be used for charity, including the purchase of a church.

Talbot, 54, described himself as a spiritual and financial adviser to Vick when the Newport News native and former NFL star filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

Peter Ginsberg, a lawyer for Vick, said Friday he was shocked to learn of the complaint against Talbot and said a motion would be filed in bankruptcy court to withdraw a request for Talbot to help in Vick's case.

Ginsberg said he hasn't yet spoken to Vick about the matter but said "there's no appropriate alternative."

Besides the complaint in New Jersey, Talbot has a history of financial troubles that were not disclosed in Vick's case. Talbot filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002, and his landlord is currently trying to evict him.

Vick, 28, is in a federal prison in Kansas, serving a 23-month sentence on a dogfighting conspiracy charge. He listed his assets and liabilities between

$10 million and $50 million.

Talbot said in bankruptcy court documents filed last month that he had earned the trust of Vick's family and already had been working with him for several months.

Jeff Lamm, a spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said the state began investigating Talbot before Vick filed for bankruptcy protection.

Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney representing Talbot on the securities case, said he learned of the complaint Friday and couldn't comment.

The complaint says Talbot and two others moved the investors' money between business and personal accounts, used it on themselves and never registered themselves or the securities with the bureau.

Vick's attorneys filed a document that declared Vick had given Talbot power of attorney on June 7 and named Talbot as his "chosen advisor, manager and responsible person to manage my affairs."

Included was a signed agreement between the men that Vick would pay Talbot $15,000 per month during the bankruptcy proceeding.

The trustee in Vick's bankruptcy proceeding, as well as attorneys for some of Vick's creditors, have objected to Talbot's appointment as adviser. One questioned his qualifications - noting that an Internet search for Talbot & Associates, the consulting business Talbot said in his affidavit that he ran out of offices in Miami and New Jersey, did not readily return any information about Talbot or the business.

In 2002, Talbot filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. A judge dismissed the petition later that year.

The order said Talbot missed a confirmation hearing and regular payments in his repayment plan.

Talbot's landlord filed an eviction notice against him this week. Talbot owes about $6,000 on his high-rise apartment in Hackensack, N.J., said Christine Turner, a property manager for Excelsior Apartments.

In his affidavit to the court in Vick's bankruptcy case, Talbot listed Vick and six other people on a "short list" of clients. One was New York radio and TV personality Joe Franklin.

Franklin, reached last month, said he knew Talbot's father well.

"David is a very enterprising man," Franklin said. "So far as I'm concerned, he's as good as gold."

Talbot carried business cards that said "Jesus Christ," Franklin recalled.

"He's very sincere about that," Franklin said.

Talbot wrote in his affidavit that he was arranging for spiritual fellowship for Vick with several celebrities, including Pastor Kevin Jonas, father and manager of the popular music group The Jonas Brothers.

Jonas is the former pastor of the Wyckoff Assembly of God church, of which Talbot was once a member, according to the New Jersey securities complaint.

The complaint accuses Talbot, Kenneth Simmons of California and Robert Schroy of Illinois of running a scam from March to October 2007 and using Talbot's ties to Wyckoff Assembly and another church to recruit investors.

Some investors planned to donate their returns so a group called New Horizons Fellowship could buy the Wyckoff church, the complaint said. New Horizons Fellowship has since disbanded, the complaint said.

Talbot used some of the money from investors on personal expenses, including checks for his son, rent and purchases at Best Buy, Geico, the

Direct Shopping Network, PayPal and Bidz.com, the complaint says.

Attempts to reach Talbot over the past several weeks have been unsuccessful.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com