Investors in sleek hybrid sports car say they were conned - Technology - ...
1 of 4
SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS
DIGITAL NEWSPAPER
PLACE AN AD
MIAMI.COM
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/13/2452717/investors-in-sleek-hyb...
MOMSMIAMI.COM
ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
PUBLIC NOTICES
The Miami Herald > Business > Technology
Weather | Traffic
Friday, 10.14.11 Welcome Guest
Login
Register
HOME NEWS SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS LIVING OPINION JOBS CARS REAL ESTATE SHOP CLASSIFIEDS
Small Business | Personal Finance | Economy | Technology & Reviews | Workplace | Real Estate | Press Releases | Markets
Miami Herald
Posted on Thursday, 10.13.11
1
email
print
comment
Web Search powered byYAHOO!SEARCH
reprint
Investors in sleek hybrid sports car say they
were conned
Search: Obituaries | Horoscopes | Data Sleuth | Events
A South Florida businessman convinced investors to come up $4.5 million for
shares in an electric car company. But they got nothing for their money, and a
lawsuit alleges it was a scam.
BY ADAM H. BEASLEY
[email protected]
The Fisker Karma — a sleek, plug-in hybrid sports
sedan — made its long-awaited debut earlier this
year, and to heaping praise.
Car and Driver called the sports car, which fetches
upwards to $100,000, “striking, luxurious, and easy
on big-car guilt.” Popular Mechanic added: “The
Fisker Karma is a standout luxury and performance
vehicle, period.”
But for more than a half-dozen deep-pocketed
financiers who wanted a stake in the sports car,
the industry buzz was little more than salt in the
wounds.
That’s because the $4.5 million they shelled out to
buy preferred Fisker shares from John A. Mattera, a Boca Raton-based equity firm CEO and
self-proclaimed philanthropist, has bought them nothing but frustration and embarrassment, according to a
federal lawsuit filed in Fort Lauderdale last month.
Those investors allege Mattera and his partners employed “blatant and fraudulent misrepresentations” to
separate them from their millions.
The money, shipped to a Fort Lauderdale title company to be held in escrow until the deal was completed,
appears gone, attorneys for the plaintiffs say. The shares? They never existed, the suit claims — and
even Mattera admitted to The Miami Herald this week.
But Mattera said allegations that he purposefully misled and defrauded the investors are “absolutely
incorrect.”
$99 for 5 sessions of a
natural weight loss program
at MiBaSo (a $334 value)
$99.00
Mattera acknowledges he never owned Fisker Series A-1 preferred stock, which the investors were told
they were buying. He did have a substantial holding of similar Series B stock, which he said he tasked
associates Bradford van Siclen and John Hartley with selling. Mattera said van Siclen, the New
Jersey-based private equity broker who is a defendant in the lawsuit along with Hartley, was responsible
for misrepresenting the offer. A message left for van Siclen at his business, The Praetorian Fund, went
unanswered this week.
Miami attorney Loren Cohen, who represents the investors in the lawsuit, said Mattera, 50, was an active
participant in the sales pitch, even introducing one of the potential shareholders to Henrik Fisker, the
creator of the slick sports car, in the VIP booth of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the suit claims. (Efforts to
reach Fisker’s spokesperson and general counsel for comment this week were not successful).
Cohen said his clients, who include a Destin-based businessman and a family trust from New Mexico,
didn’t even get Mattera’s Series B shares out of the deal.
Value:
Discount:
You Save:
$334
70%
$235
Sign up for the daily deal email:
Enter your email here
Get Deals!
MORE TECHNOLOGY
China mulls microblog limits before party
10/14/2011 9:51 AM
Investors in sleek hybrid sports car say they were conned - Technology - ...
2 of 4
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/13/2452717/investors-in-sleek-hyb...
“It’s one thing to say, I sold you a Lexus and I’ll end up giving you an Infiniti,” Cohen added. “But the reality
is, they ended up getting neither. It’s outrageous.”
meeting
Sony Ericsson profits down in 3rd quarter
Apple starts selling latest iPhone on Friday
For Mattera, it’s not the first time he has been accused of business malfeasance.
Apple co-founder Wozniak in line at Apple store
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on fraud, larceny, and grand theft charges in 2001, and
he served probation after agreeing to a plea deal.
In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged he ran a penny-stock scheme in which he made
fraudulent public statements to pump up stock prices at the same time that he was illegally selling
unregistered shares of stock. He was ultimately banned from trading penny stocks and agreed to pay
nearly $150,000 in fines, court records show.
Gadgets: TRON- and music-lovers will
appreciate Monster dock
Investors in sleek hybrid sports car say they
were conned
More
VIDEOS
Mattera’s history of civil litigation doesn’t end there. He has been sued repeatedly in county and federal
court, and many of the complaints against him echo the most recent allegations.
Full Story
email
print
Share
1
|
2
|
Next »
Twitter
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in
the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open
debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that
VIDEO FROM OUR PARTNERS
NDN VIDEO
are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
We have introduced a new commenting system called Disqus for our articles. This allows readers the option of signing in
using their Facebook, Twitter, Disqus or existing MiamiHerald.com username and password.
Having problems? Read more about the commenting system on MiamiHerald.com.
14 Comments
ADD NEW COMMENT
Login
ON FACEBOOK
Real-time updating is enabled. (Pause)
SHOWING 1-10 OF 14 COMMENTS
The great thing about South Florida is that rich dumb-axes give their money to scammers like this guy, Rothstein
and the like, while legitimate businesses can't find investors to grow and produce real jobs. Really amazing, but
South Florida just is fast and loose.
The more gaudy your suit is and the less unbuttoned your shirt, the more people will love you, apparently.
Well, at least the stolen money is getting redistributed to the local jewelry stores, restaurants, luxury goods makers
and hookers -- something is being done to boost the local economy.
John Mattera is well known in Boca Ratoon or Boca Racoon for more than decade to be a major crook and stock
gangster.
He has never even attempted to do one single deal without cheating. He has done jail in Kentucky. He has cheated
numerous women and every investor, partner, friend out of everything. The guy has a huge rap sheet, he is a true
mini-Rothstein.
10/14/2011 9:51 AM