Government: Vick finances a mess, and he needs assistance

Michael Vick has done such a poor job of picking financial advisers that the U.S. government wants to force him to accept outside help.

Vick, once among the world's highest-paid athletes, saw his fortunes crumble last year when he was convicted for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy, suspended indefinitely from the NFL and sentenced to 23 months in prison.

He filed for bankruptcy protection last month, only a few years after a 2005 Forbes Magazine list pegged the total income for the Newport News native over the prior 12 months at $37.5 million.

A habit of trusting the wrong people has contributed to Vick's current financial mess, the U.S. Trustee Program alleged in a motion filed this week.

The trustee program, which monitors the bankruptcy system, asked the judge in Vick's bankruptcy case to appoint an impartial person who "would be empowered to unravel Mr. Vick's financial situation."

The person, known as a Chapter 11 trustee, would help recover assets from third parties, the motion said.

"Mr. Vick has seriously mismanaged his financial affairs by continually relying upon untrustworthy persons for advice and giving those persons control over his affairs," the government said in its motion.

Peter Ginsberg, an attorney for Vick, said he will oppose the motion because it would add an unnecessary and costly layer of bureaucracy.

"We're well under way to getting our arms around Michael's finances and understanding what happened," he said.

The trustee's duties would be similar to what Vick wanted to bestow upon David A. Talbot, a man who described himself in court papers as a trusted adviser who was counseling Vick on financial and spiritual matters.

Vick's lawyers last week withdrew their request to have Talbot help after the New Jersey Bureau of Securities filed a civil complaint against him. The bureau accuses Talbot of helping swindle more than $500,000 from investors, including some who thought their money would help buy a church.

The government's motion for the trustee also questions the choice Vick made last year for a business manager. Vick's attorneys have said in court documents that Vick believes he gave about $550,000 in investment funds to the person, identified as Mary Wong of Omaha, Neb. They accused her of removing another $350,000 from Vick's defined benefit plan without his authorization.

In a document filed Thursday, Vick's attorneys said Vick gave Wong a general power of attorney last year so she could manage his assets while he was in federal prison.

"The Debtor is now learning that Wong betrayed his trust and engaged in numerous unauthorized transactions, often with entities in which she either held an ownership interest or exercised managerial control," the document said.

Vick's attorneys are now trying to get Wong and an Omaha investment firm named Campbell Wealth Management to turn over documents related to Vick's finances. In one motion, they submitted a 2007 decision by the New York Stock Exchange Hearing Board that barred Wong from membership in the NYSE because it found she received customer funds under false pretenses and misappropriated them.

Wong did not respond to an e-mail on Friday.

Ginsberg said he believes Vick met Wong through connections in the NFL.

In his work with Talbot, Vick had agreed to pay him $15,000 per month for his services and had given him a Mercedes-Benz before the accusations from New Jersey became public.

Unbeknown to Vick's lawyers, Talbot had filed for bankruptcy protection himself in 2002 and was facing an eviction notice from his landlord. Attempts to reach him through third parties and by e-mail have been unsuccessful.

Ginsberg said he has seen no evidence to suggest Talbot acted inappropriately with any of Vick's finances.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro has requested that Talbot be present for a court hearing with Vick's attorneys on Friday in Newport News. The hearing is for Vick's motion to withdraw his request to appoint Talbot as his financial advisor.

Santoro ordered that Talbot be notified of the hearing by personal service. He underlined "personal" and put it in bold letters.

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