Tim Blixseth
Encyclopedia
Timothy Lee "Tim" Blixseth (born 1950) is an American real estate developer, record producer
, songwriter and timber baron who is best known for co-founding the Yellowstone Club
in Montana
. Raised in Roseburg, Oregon
, Blixseth amassed a fortune in real estate and timber holdings and, in 2006, was featured in the Forbes 400
List of wealthiest Americans. After Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans, Blixseth wrote "The Heart of America
," an anthem that Blixseth claimed raised $127 million for hurricane-relief charities. In recent years, Blixseth has been involved in litigation following the bankruptcy of the Yellowstone Club
in 2008.
. His father was a disabled minister and the family was dependent on welfare. Blixseth claimed he was so poor, that he "ate spam" five days a week or shot his own food using his father's gun. As a child, Blixseth recounted his family being the victim of a financial scam, but lacking the financial resources to afford legal aid to go after the con artists. His family raised him in a self-described "local cult" called the Jesus Name of Oneness Church—a Oneness Pentecostalism
sect.
As a youth, Blixseth worked in the local grocery store and lumber mills. He reportedly got his taste for deal making when he bought three donkeys for $75, re-branded them as pack mules and sold them for $225 the same day. He later took that experience into timber land, buying 360 acres (1.5 km²) valued at $90,000 for $1,000 down with the balance payable in 30 days. He then immediately flipped the land to the a local timber kingpin for $140,000 netting a $50,000 profit (a 4,900 percent gain). Thus began Blixseth's career purchasing small parcels of land, repackaging and swapping them out for timber contracts with the federal government. After swapping land, Blixseth got into the lumber business directly, owning sawmills and engaging in federal timber contracts.
Prior to formalizing his timber and real estate career, Blixseth tried his hand in the music and songwriting business. Blixseth never attended college and after high school he traveled to and from Los Angeles attempting to launch a music career in Hollywood. During this time Blixseth married and divorced his first wife, failed to make his mark in Hollywood, and eventually returned to Oregon to focus his sights on real estate and timber.
In 1981 he met and married his second wife Edra Denise Crocker, a partner in a local Roseburg-based hotel and restaurant business called Choo-Choo Willy's. Blixseth engaged in numerous land swap deals and federal timber contracts, building on his original successful land flipping experience. However, during this time several of Blixseth's companies went bust and Blixseth defaulted on at least ten timber contracts on the Umpqua National Forest
in Oregon, leaving almost $7 million owed to the U.S. Forest Service.
By 1986, Blixseth and wife Edra were forced to declare personal bankruptcy. At the time they claimed $15.4 million in debts and only $4,400 of assets. Creditors later accused them of hiding assets including such luxury items as a Canadian baby lynx fur coat valued at $17,000; a natural-white, full-length mink coat valued at $8,995; a 14-karat gold ring with a 1.198 carat (0.2396 g) diamond valued at $10,800; and a second gold ring with a 1.27 carat (0.254 g) diamond valued at $13,700.
He is the founder and chairman of the Blixseth Group, through which he managed his business and investment efforts. Blixseth, with his second wife Edra, created numerous business entities associated with his timber, music production, real estate and software ventures. These include Blxware, Yellowstone Mountain Club, Yellowstone World Club, Crown Pacific LTD, Big Sky Lumber, BGI, Friday Records, Western Pacific Lumber, Blixseth Family Investments (BFI), and Desert Ranch Management.
overnight. Within one year, the company claimed $44 million in sales. However, along side of financial success for Blixseth and his wife, defaults and controversies continued to follow them.
In August 1989, the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service recommended the "suspension and debarment of Timothy L. Blixseth, Edra D. Blixseth, Crown Pacific Ltd... and any other businesses with which the Blixseths may be associated" for his contract defaults and business practices. By 1992 Blixseth had sold his interests in Crown Pacific and had moved his focus from Oregon to Montana where he launched Big Sky Lumber.
Big Sky Lumber was a joint venture partnership among Tim Blixseth, Mel and Norm McDougal, and Charles Holliman. Using the Big Sky Lumber partnership Blixseth disrupted negotiations between Ted Turner
, the Nature Conservancy and Plum Creek Timber
who were attempting to place some 140000 to 165000 acre (566.6 to 667.7 km2) of timber land in the Gallatin National Forest
into a protected conservation trust. In early 1992 Tim Blixseth and his Big Sky Lumber partners paid US$27.5 million to the Plum Creek Timber Company to acquire the 165000 acres (667.7 km²) and the Belgrade sawmill inside the Gallatin National Forest. The Big Sky Lumber venture brought in additional partners and quickly sold off 25000 acres (101.2 km²) for $6.5 million to developers to create the Moonlight Basin
ski and golf resort. Here again, Blixseth was a beneficiary of the Cave Mountain land exchange between the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Moonlight Basin enabling the development next to the Cave Mountain Research Natural Area. In 2009 Moonlight Basin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Simultaneous to the Moonlight Basin deal, Blixseth sold the Belgrade sawmill and a multi-year timber contract to the Louisiana Pacific timber company for $9 million.
In 1995 Blixseth's Big Sky Lumber sold another 8100 acres (32.8 km²) to the U.S. Forest Service for $16.4 million and then swapped the remaining 101000 acres (408.7 km²) in checkerboard layout for 47000 acres (190.2 km²) contiguous and an additional $25 million. Following this final sale and swap, Blixseth dissolved the Big Sky Lumber partnership and divided up the proceeds keeping 15000 acres (60.7 km²) and tens of millions in cash for himself. The cash and new acres became the foundation for Blixseth's Yellowstone Club project. Blixseth with Pittsburgh financier James L. Dolan, also started the Spanish Peaks development, a high-end but somewhat less exclusive resort on neighboring property to the Yellowstone Club with land from the swap deal. Spanish Peaks announced it was closing and filing for bankruptcy in 2011. Between sales to timber interests, developers and the U.S. government, Blixseth's team grossed $56.9 million and 47000 acres (190.2 km²) of prime development real estate valued at over $100 million in less than three years from the date of their initial $27.5 million dollar investment of which Blixseth reportedly put less than $3 million.
During these years Blixseth leveraged political contacts developed via hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions to facilitate the land exchanges with the state and federal governments needed to put together his real estate development projects. Ted Turner was so appalled by Blixseth's dealings with the government and politicians, and irked by Blixseth's disruption of his attempts to protect the Gallatin lands from development, that he called him out in a 1996 speech as a "serial defaulter" noting, "I made my money by creating things, not by sticking taxpayers."
Even following his trail of Forest Service defaults, bankruptcies and related controversies, Blixseth has continued his timber and real estate development dealings with the federal government. Via investments in Oregon-based Western Pacific Timber Blixseth is involved in an ongoing (2011) controversial attempt to flip some 40,000 of former timber land for development with the U.S. Forest service as part of the Upper Lochsa River
Land Exchange in Idaho.
to Warren Miller
to help attract investors and members. At the same time Blixseth was securing financing from a range of investors, many of whom were unaware of the others, and who would later come forward following the Club's bankruptcy in 2009.
The early days of the Yellowstone Club were a boon to Tim and Edra Blixseth. In 2005 alone, they took in over $200 million from the sales of building lots and memberships to wealthy business leaders, media icons and celebrities. Early Club members and investors included Bill Gates
, Mary Hart
, Dan Quayle
and Steve Case
. However, leading to the Club's eventual financial failure was Blixseth's dealings with cyclist Greg LeMond
. In 2002 LeMond, with four other family members and associates, became investors with Blixseth in the Yellowstone Club. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse
loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake.
The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort (which was also the basis for Blixseth's billionaire net worth status by Forbes) and for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one percent shares. LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million in 2007; however, he and his partners remain creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20 million payment followed by their divorce and bankruptcy of the Club in 2009.
Around the same time, Denise Ann Touhy, the Yellowstone Club's VP of finance who had extensive knowledge of Blixseth's financial situation, died at her Big Sky home from an explosion caused by a propane gas leak. Although no evidence of foul play was found in Touhy's death, local press reports claimed "rumors started circulating among club members that her death was related to the LeMond lawsuit." The LeMond suit, Touhy's tragic death and exposure of the Credit Suisse loan opened Blixseth up to scrutiny by other investors and Club members driving discussions to seek an outside buyer for the Club. Before a deal could be put together, however, the Club's real financial situation began to unfold. As part of his divorce, Blixseth transferred the Club and its debts to wife Edra pushing the Club into bankruptcy protection from which it was subsequently sold to outside investors led by Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital Partners.
During the bankruptcy trial, elements of which are still facing appeals by Blixseth, Montana federal bankruptcy judge Ralph Kirscher laid the blame for the Club's financial demise with Blixseth and the Credit Suisse bankers whose actions were characterized as such "naked greed" as to "shock the conscience of the court." Kirscher ruled that Edra and the Club's financial problems which led to its bankruptcy "were caused largely by fraud and deceit on the part of Tim Blixseth." Lawyers for Blixseth's creditors also claimed, “The corporate greed of Credit Suisse and Mr. Blixseth’s sense of entitlement” were a toxic combination which led to the Club's demise. The Credit Suisse loan agreement allowed Blixseth to take up to $209 million cash out for himself. While technically that sum was a loan from the club to BGI, Blixseth’s wholly owned holding company, Blixseth in turn borrowed $190 million of that personally from BGI. The Club and its creditors committee allege these were in effect sham loans that Blixseth never intended to repay—and cited as evidence the fact that the promissory notes for those loans were not even secured by any assets. Montana state tax officials agreed and are seeking some $57 million in unpaid taxes from Blixseth associated with the Credit Suisse payout.
In turn, Blixseth is suing Credit Suisse for making the loan to him using the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy case findings claiming the loan was part of a broader Credit Suisse scheme to generate high fees and defaults from which Blixseth claims he is a victim. Blixseth's son Beau is also separately suing Credit Suisse claiming they deliberately orchestrated the failures of at least other four major resort projects in which the Blixseths were also investors so that it could acquire them on the cheap. Represented by his father's attorney Mike Flynn, Beau Blixseth is seeking $24 billion in damages from Credit Suisse claiming fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary responsibility. Tim Blixseth has also appealed aspects of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy; however, the judge so far has found Blixseth's claims unconvincing, noting, "Given the evidence, Blixseth’s arguments are without support."
The Blixseths reportedly had tried to use connections with the Republican party to sell the software to the government for $100 million. Hoping to win more government money, Ms. Blixseth turned to influential friends, like Yellowstone Club member Jack Kemp
, the former New York congressman and Republican vice-presidential nominee, and Conrad Burns
, then a Republican senator from Montana. Kemp and Burns became minority stakeholders in the Blxware venture. According to the New York Times, Mr. Kemp used his friendship with Vice President Dick Cheney to set up a meeting in 2006 at which Mr. Kemp, Mr. Montgomery and Ms. Blixseth met with a top Vice President Cheney adviser, Samantha Ravich, to talk about expanding the government’s use of the Blxware software.
However, like the video compression software, the video recognition software did not perform to claims. Co-workers disclosed to investigators that test results shared with the government had been doctored. The software was reportedly responsible for a false terror alert which grounded international flights and caused Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
to raise the government's security level. And because the software was being tested for the military, the federal government is investigating. In February 2006, the FBI opened an economic espionage and theft of intellectual property investigation. The U.S. Air Force office of Special Investigations is also investigating.
. Heart of America
is a charity single written by Tim Blixseth . The song was performed by Wynonna Judd
, Michael McDonald
, and Eric Benét to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina
. Blixseth is also the listed producer for Hurricane
.
following Blixseth’s divorce and resulting bankruptcy.
Claimed to be part of their plans to expand the Yellowstone Club concept into a world-wide venture, Blixseth and wife Edra purchased Château de Farcheville
a 15 bedroom, 1000 acres (4 km²) French castle valued at $60 million and 265 acres (1.1 km²) at the famed St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland valued at $12 million. The Blixseth’s also purchased at least two mega-yachts worth $25 million: Tooth Fairy – 147’ Sterling motor yacht and Piano Bar – a 157’ Picchiotti motor yacht and a $36 million Gulfstream IV
private jet promoted to be part of the Yellowstone Club World venture. Blixseth's other high-price assets included a $400,000 Rolls Royce Phantom, a $300,000 Rolls Royce Corniche, a $200,000 BMW 760 and a $175,000 Aston Martin Volante
. The castle, jet and yachts, like Porcupine Creek, are being sold off as part of Blixseth’s divorce and related bankruptcy filings.
Tim Blixseth’s other properties include his Medina, Washington
home valued at $6 million, a private 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) island in the Turks & Caicos with a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) home called Emerald Cay listed for sale in 2011 at $75 million, a 2400 acres (9.7 km²) private Mexican beach and golf resort called El Tamarindo with an estimated worth of $40 million currently held in bond pending resolution of creditor suits in Montana Bankruptcy Court, and Casa Captiva, a 10000 square feet (929 m²) home in Los Cabos, Mexico valued at $12.85 million.
While initially both were quoted amicably about each other and the divorce, the tide quickly changed as the details Ms. Blixseth's newly acquired financial debts came to light. Commenting on ex-husband Tim, Ms. Blixseth told the New York Times in 2009, "I would rather feel the cold steel of a revolver in the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger than to ever think about living a day with that man again." And, in text messages entered as evidence by the trustee for Edra Blixseth's estate, Tim Blixseth told her that she was "the center of evil" and declared "you and your gang are going to jail."
The trustee for Edra Blixseth's estate have filed a lawsuit against Tim Blixseth seeking to set aside their divorce settlement on the grounds of fraud, claiming she was swindled during the divorce, with her ex-husband taking the better half of their shared fortune and leaving her and the Club with massive debt from the Credit Suisse loan. Edra Blixseth was forced to sell Porkupine Creek Estate and golf course to Larry Ellison
and also sell Chateau de Farcheville
in France, due to the bankruptcy. Blixseth has countered with claims of fraud and allegations that wife Edra is under criminal investigation for her role in defrauding investors and conspiring to steal the Club from him.
Blixseth's legal troubles also extend overseas to a 2009 investigation by the Government of the Turks & Caicos charging him with falsifying sales documents to avoid paying real estate transfer fees. According to the suit, Blixeth and his business partners are liable for an outstanding stamp duty of $1.7 million as well as a penalty of $7 million. Blixseth responded to the charges through his attorney Mike Flynn claiming the charges were an "extortionate attempt to extract money from Mr. Blixseth" and the real responsible parties were corrupt government officials. Claiming he was "set up" Blixseth vowed to fight the charges by "exposing all the corruptions" in the Turks & Caicos Islands. In June 2011, the Turks & Caicos government found Blixseth and the companies associated with the sale guilty of "a carefully crafted scheme of tax evasion" and ordered a judgement of US$1.25 million, pushing judgement on additional penalties to a later date.
Echoing a theme that his legal issues are the result of government corruption and conspiracies against him, in 2010 Blixseth filed suit to have Federal Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kischer removed from a case in which the judge issued a $40 million fraud judgement against him. Blixseth alleged the judge was biased against him and had conspired with Montana state government officials and the creditors suing Blixseth. The creditors, however, also disagree with the judge and have appealed his ruling claiming they are owed not $40 but $286 million by Blixseth. In response to the conspiracy and bias charges, Judge Kirscher ruled against Blixseth request for recusal noting, "This Court has not and will not succumb to any pressure, political or otherwise." Adding, Blixseth's "ultimate goal" appeared to be to upset prior rulings in the numerous cases against him pending various appeals.
In a separate bankruptcy case against Blixseth brought by California, Idaho and Montana tax officials in Nevada seeking tens of millions in allegedly unpaid taxes, Blixseth again claimed he was the victim of conspiracy and government corruption. "The state of Montana, the Montana Department of Revenue and their partners were in cahoots," Blixseth told the Associated Press claiming Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer conspired with his ex-wife Edra, Yellowstone Club creditors and the tax authorities in three states seeking to bring him down. Blixseth added, "It's completely and absolutely provable, and we will be bringing all the facts out shortly." The state tax authorities, creditors and Governor Schweitzer all denied the conspiracy claims as "baseless allegations" having "no factual basis." In a subsequent press release by his attorney Mike Flynn, Blixseth claimed, "All parties who played any role in the forced bankruptcy will now be subject to depositions, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer."
In June of 2011 Blixseth filed suit against one of his personal attorneys for legal malpractice and personal injury associated with the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy. Blixseth is seeking $375 million in damages claiming his former personal attorney Stephen Brown conspired to "plot against" him in bankruptcy proceedings which found Blixseth had looted the club prior to passing it debt-ridden to his wife Edra Blixseth as part of their divorce. Brown denied the claims. Blixseth's conspiracy and fraud allegations in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy were vacated in July of 2011 by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case who ruled the accusations were previously addressed and found without merit. Blixseth then filed suit against Credit Suisse and their appraisal company claiming they deceived and mislead him into accepting some $300 million in loan payments which eventually led to the resorts bankruptcy. A claim to which Credit Suisse responded, "This is simply the latest attempt to shift blame to others and away from his own conduct" in a Bloomberg News report which added,"Blixseth had, among other things, been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors in 2010 when a federal judge pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on a series of his fraudulent deals." Creditors are seeking an additional $286 million in alleged misappropriated funds which trustees claim Blixseth looted from the Yellowstone Club prior to its bankruptcy. Blixseth continues to fight these claims and seeks to have the various judgments against him vacated. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher, however, ruled against Blixseth's appeal seeking to unravel the Yellowstone Club Bankruptcy and claims against him on September 30, 2011. In his memorandum of decision ruling against Blixseth Kirscher wrote, "The Court is tasked with writing yet another chapter in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy saga, which has been ongoing for almost three years."
A list of Bixseth civil and bankruptcy related cases can be found here.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, songwriter and timber baron who is best known for co-founding the Yellowstone Club
Yellowstone Club
The Yellowstone Club, also Yellowstone Ski Resort, is an invitation-only residential club, ski resort, and golf resort located in the state of Montana, USA. The Rocky Mountain ski and golf club is located in eastern Madison County, just west of Big Sky, Montana, south of Bozeman and northwest of...
in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. Raised in Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Blixseth amassed a fortune in real estate and timber holdings and, in 2006, was featured in the Forbes 400
Forbes 400
The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...
List of wealthiest Americans. After Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
hit New Orleans, Blixseth wrote "The Heart of America
Heart of America
Heart of America is a charity single written by Tim Blixseth. The song was performed by Wynonna Judd, Michael McDonald, and Eric Benet before the third game of the 2005 World Series, in tribute to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. When the trio recorded the song in a studio, they were joined by...
," an anthem that Blixseth claimed raised $127 million for hurricane-relief charities. In recent years, Blixseth has been involved in litigation following the bankruptcy of the Yellowstone Club
Yellowstone Club
The Yellowstone Club, also Yellowstone Ski Resort, is an invitation-only residential club, ski resort, and golf resort located in the state of Montana, USA. The Rocky Mountain ski and golf club is located in eastern Madison County, just west of Big Sky, Montana, south of Bozeman and northwest of...
in 2008.
Early years
Timothy Blixseth was the youngest of five children born to Norwegian immigrants who grew up in Roseburg, OregonRoseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. His father was a disabled minister and the family was dependent on welfare. Blixseth claimed he was so poor, that he "ate spam" five days a week or shot his own food using his father's gun. As a child, Blixseth recounted his family being the victim of a financial scam, but lacking the financial resources to afford legal aid to go after the con artists. His family raised him in a self-described "local cult" called the Jesus Name of Oneness Church—a Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostalism refers to a grouping of denominations and believers within Pentecostal Christianity, all of whom subscribe to the nontrinitarian theological doctrine of Oneness...
sect.
As a youth, Blixseth worked in the local grocery store and lumber mills. He reportedly got his taste for deal making when he bought three donkeys for $75, re-branded them as pack mules and sold them for $225 the same day. He later took that experience into timber land, buying 360 acres (1.5 km²) valued at $90,000 for $1,000 down with the balance payable in 30 days. He then immediately flipped the land to the a local timber kingpin for $140,000 netting a $50,000 profit (a 4,900 percent gain). Thus began Blixseth's career purchasing small parcels of land, repackaging and swapping them out for timber contracts with the federal government. After swapping land, Blixseth got into the lumber business directly, owning sawmills and engaging in federal timber contracts.
Prior to formalizing his timber and real estate career, Blixseth tried his hand in the music and songwriting business. Blixseth never attended college and after high school he traveled to and from Los Angeles attempting to launch a music career in Hollywood. During this time Blixseth married and divorced his first wife, failed to make his mark in Hollywood, and eventually returned to Oregon to focus his sights on real estate and timber.
In 1981 he met and married his second wife Edra Denise Crocker, a partner in a local Roseburg-based hotel and restaurant business called Choo-Choo Willy's. Blixseth engaged in numerous land swap deals and federal timber contracts, building on his original successful land flipping experience. However, during this time several of Blixseth's companies went bust and Blixseth defaulted on at least ten timber contracts on the Umpqua National Forest
Umpqua National Forest
Umpqua National Forest, in southern Oregon's Cascade mountains, covers an area of one-million acres in Douglas, Lane, and Jackson Counties, and borders Crater Lake National Park. The four ranger districts that comprise the Forest are Cottage Grove, Diamond Lake, North Umpqua, and Tiller Ranger...
in Oregon, leaving almost $7 million owed to the U.S. Forest Service.
By 1986, Blixseth and wife Edra were forced to declare personal bankruptcy. At the time they claimed $15.4 million in debts and only $4,400 of assets. Creditors later accused them of hiding assets including such luxury items as a Canadian baby lynx fur coat valued at $17,000; a natural-white, full-length mink coat valued at $8,995; a 14-karat gold ring with a 1.198 carat (0.2396 g) diamond valued at $10,800; and a second gold ring with a 1.27 carat (0.254 g) diamond valued at $13,700.
Career
Blixseth’s is a rags to riches and back again story involving government land schemes, Hollywood and courtroom dramas, high finance and political intrigue. Following his 1986 bankruptcy Blixseth returned to timber and land deals, expanding his dealings from Oregon to Montana and earning him a listing in 2006 on the Forbes list of wealthiest American billionaires.He is the founder and chairman of the Blixseth Group, through which he managed his business and investment efforts. Blixseth, with his second wife Edra, created numerous business entities associated with his timber, music production, real estate and software ventures. These include Blxware, Yellowstone Mountain Club, Yellowstone World Club, Crown Pacific LTD, Big Sky Lumber, BGI, Friday Records, Western Pacific Lumber, Blixseth Family Investments (BFI), and Desert Ranch Management.
Timber
Following his first bankruptcy in 1986, Tim Blixseth continued to pursue and rebuild his timber related businesses. In 1988 he co-founded Crown Pacific, LTD with Peter Stott. Stott and Blixseth built the business into a leading timberland owner in Central OregonCentral Oregon
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south...
overnight. Within one year, the company claimed $44 million in sales. However, along side of financial success for Blixseth and his wife, defaults and controversies continued to follow them.
In August 1989, the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service recommended the "suspension and debarment of Timothy L. Blixseth, Edra D. Blixseth, Crown Pacific Ltd... and any other businesses with which the Blixseths may be associated" for his contract defaults and business practices. By 1992 Blixseth had sold his interests in Crown Pacific and had moved his focus from Oregon to Montana where he launched Big Sky Lumber.
Big Sky Lumber was a joint venture partnership among Tim Blixseth, Mel and Norm McDougal, and Charles Holliman. Using the Big Sky Lumber partnership Blixseth disrupted negotiations between Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
, the Nature Conservancy and Plum Creek Timber
Plum Creek Timber
Plum Creek Timber is the largest private landowner in the United States. Most of its lands were originally purchased, or otherwise acquired as timberland....
who were attempting to place some 140000 to 165000 acre (566.6 to 667.7 km2) of timber land in the Gallatin National Forest
Gallatin National Forest
Founded in 1899, Gallatin National Forest is located in south central Montana, United States. The forest comprises 2.1 million acres and has portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries...
into a protected conservation trust. In early 1992 Tim Blixseth and his Big Sky Lumber partners paid US$27.5 million to the Plum Creek Timber Company to acquire the 165000 acres (667.7 km²) and the Belgrade sawmill inside the Gallatin National Forest. The Big Sky Lumber venture brought in additional partners and quickly sold off 25000 acres (101.2 km²) for $6.5 million to developers to create the Moonlight Basin
Moonlight Basin
Moonlight Basin is a ski resort in southwestern Montana, located in the Madison Range of the Rocky Mountains near the resort village of Big Sky...
ski and golf resort. Here again, Blixseth was a beneficiary of the Cave Mountain land exchange between the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Moonlight Basin enabling the development next to the Cave Mountain Research Natural Area. In 2009 Moonlight Basin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Simultaneous to the Moonlight Basin deal, Blixseth sold the Belgrade sawmill and a multi-year timber contract to the Louisiana Pacific timber company for $9 million.
In 1995 Blixseth's Big Sky Lumber sold another 8100 acres (32.8 km²) to the U.S. Forest Service for $16.4 million and then swapped the remaining 101000 acres (408.7 km²) in checkerboard layout for 47000 acres (190.2 km²) contiguous and an additional $25 million. Following this final sale and swap, Blixseth dissolved the Big Sky Lumber partnership and divided up the proceeds keeping 15000 acres (60.7 km²) and tens of millions in cash for himself. The cash and new acres became the foundation for Blixseth's Yellowstone Club project. Blixseth with Pittsburgh financier James L. Dolan, also started the Spanish Peaks development, a high-end but somewhat less exclusive resort on neighboring property to the Yellowstone Club with land from the swap deal. Spanish Peaks announced it was closing and filing for bankruptcy in 2011. Between sales to timber interests, developers and the U.S. government, Blixseth's team grossed $56.9 million and 47000 acres (190.2 km²) of prime development real estate valued at over $100 million in less than three years from the date of their initial $27.5 million dollar investment of which Blixseth reportedly put less than $3 million.
During these years Blixseth leveraged political contacts developed via hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions to facilitate the land exchanges with the state and federal governments needed to put together his real estate development projects. Ted Turner was so appalled by Blixseth's dealings with the government and politicians, and irked by Blixseth's disruption of his attempts to protect the Gallatin lands from development, that he called him out in a 1996 speech as a "serial defaulter" noting, "I made my money by creating things, not by sticking taxpayers."
Even following his trail of Forest Service defaults, bankruptcies and related controversies, Blixseth has continued his timber and real estate development dealings with the federal government. Via investments in Oregon-based Western Pacific Timber Blixseth is involved in an ongoing (2011) controversial attempt to flip some 40,000 of former timber land for development with the U.S. Forest service as part of the Upper Lochsa River
Lochsa River
The Lochsa River is located in the northwestern United States, in the mountains of north central Idaho. It is one of two primary tributaries of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River in the Clearwater National Forest. Lochsa is a Nez Perce word meaning rough water.The Lochsa was included by the...
Land Exchange in Idaho.
Yellowstone Club, Greg LeMond and Credit Suisse controversy
Flush with cash and land from his 1995 deal with the U.S. Forest Service, Blixseth began development of 15000 acres (60.7 km²) of pristine Montana real estate outside of Big Sky. Blixseth later re-characterized this beginning to a Montana Bankruptcy court as “I started the club with a pick-up truck and a hammer.” Early on Blixseth began courting politicians and celebrities ranging from Jack KempJack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
to Warren Miller
Warren Miller (director)
Warren Miller is an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker. He is the founder of Warren Miller Entertainment and produced, directed and narrated his films until 1988. His credits include over 750 sports films, several books and hundreds of published non-fiction stories...
to help attract investors and members. At the same time Blixseth was securing financing from a range of investors, many of whom were unaware of the others, and who would later come forward following the Club's bankruptcy in 2009.
The early days of the Yellowstone Club were a boon to Tim and Edra Blixseth. In 2005 alone, they took in over $200 million from the sales of building lots and memberships to wealthy business leaders, media icons and celebrities. Early Club members and investors included Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, Mary Hart
Mary Hart
Mary Hart is an American television personality and was the host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2011.-Early life:...
, Dan Quayle
Dan Quayle
James Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....
and Steve Case
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell "Steve" Case is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online . Since his retirement as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003, he has gone on to build a variety of new businesses through his investment...
. However, leading to the Club's eventual financial failure was Blixseth's dealings with cyclist Greg LeMond
Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada....
. In 2002 LeMond, with four other family members and associates, became investors with Blixseth in the Yellowstone Club. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake.
The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort (which was also the basis for Blixseth's billionaire net worth status by Forbes) and for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one percent shares. LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million in 2007; however, he and his partners remain creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20 million payment followed by their divorce and bankruptcy of the Club in 2009.
Around the same time, Denise Ann Touhy, the Yellowstone Club's VP of finance who had extensive knowledge of Blixseth's financial situation, died at her Big Sky home from an explosion caused by a propane gas leak. Although no evidence of foul play was found in Touhy's death, local press reports claimed "rumors started circulating among club members that her death was related to the LeMond lawsuit." The LeMond suit, Touhy's tragic death and exposure of the Credit Suisse loan opened Blixseth up to scrutiny by other investors and Club members driving discussions to seek an outside buyer for the Club. Before a deal could be put together, however, the Club's real financial situation began to unfold. As part of his divorce, Blixseth transferred the Club and its debts to wife Edra pushing the Club into bankruptcy protection from which it was subsequently sold to outside investors led by Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital Partners.
During the bankruptcy trial, elements of which are still facing appeals by Blixseth, Montana federal bankruptcy judge Ralph Kirscher laid the blame for the Club's financial demise with Blixseth and the Credit Suisse bankers whose actions were characterized as such "naked greed" as to "shock the conscience of the court." Kirscher ruled that Edra and the Club's financial problems which led to its bankruptcy "were caused largely by fraud and deceit on the part of Tim Blixseth." Lawyers for Blixseth's creditors also claimed, “The corporate greed of Credit Suisse and Mr. Blixseth’s sense of entitlement” were a toxic combination which led to the Club's demise. The Credit Suisse loan agreement allowed Blixseth to take up to $209 million cash out for himself. While technically that sum was a loan from the club to BGI, Blixseth’s wholly owned holding company, Blixseth in turn borrowed $190 million of that personally from BGI. The Club and its creditors committee allege these were in effect sham loans that Blixseth never intended to repay—and cited as evidence the fact that the promissory notes for those loans were not even secured by any assets. Montana state tax officials agreed and are seeking some $57 million in unpaid taxes from Blixseth associated with the Credit Suisse payout.
In turn, Blixseth is suing Credit Suisse for making the loan to him using the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy case findings claiming the loan was part of a broader Credit Suisse scheme to generate high fees and defaults from which Blixseth claims he is a victim. Blixseth's son Beau is also separately suing Credit Suisse claiming they deliberately orchestrated the failures of at least other four major resort projects in which the Blixseths were also investors so that it could acquire them on the cheap. Represented by his father's attorney Mike Flynn, Beau Blixseth is seeking $24 billion in damages from Credit Suisse claiming fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary responsibility. Tim Blixseth has also appealed aspects of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy; however, the judge so far has found Blixseth's claims unconvincing, noting, "Given the evidence, Blixseth’s arguments are without support."
Software
Throughout the Yellowstone Club evolving debacle, the Blixseth's were developing other business interests leveraging their new found friends in the political and business elite. In 2006 the Blixseth's invested $10 million in a Seattle software company which once claimed it could compress as many as 50 movies onto one DVD. A claim Bill Gates reportedly told the Blixseth's sounded "impossible but worth billions" if it worked. It did not, but led the Blixseths to form Blxware to pursue other related technology opportunities. Formally Blxware was a partnership between Edra Blixseth and a software developer named Dennis Montgomery created in 2006. Blxware’s key product was promoted as software designed to recognize patterns and objects in video streams, and the company had obtained government contracts to develop it for national security applications. To develop the technology Blxware made further investments in a company founded by Warren Trepp called eTreppid. Trepp, once a top trader for Michael Milken, later alleged that the Blixseth's stole computer code that purportedly could sift through broadcasts from Qatar-based news network Al- Jazeera and find embedded messages from terrorists.The Blixseths reportedly had tried to use connections with the Republican party to sell the software to the government for $100 million. Hoping to win more government money, Ms. Blixseth turned to influential friends, like Yellowstone Club member Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, the former New York congressman and Republican vice-presidential nominee, and Conrad Burns
Conrad Burns
Conrad Ray Burns is a former United States Senator from Montana. He is only the second Republican to represent Montana in the Senate since the passage in 1913 of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and is the longest-serving Republican senator in Montana history.While in...
, then a Republican senator from Montana. Kemp and Burns became minority stakeholders in the Blxware venture. According to the New York Times, Mr. Kemp used his friendship with Vice President Dick Cheney to set up a meeting in 2006 at which Mr. Kemp, Mr. Montgomery and Ms. Blixseth met with a top Vice President Cheney adviser, Samantha Ravich, to talk about expanding the government’s use of the Blxware software.
However, like the video compression software, the video recognition software did not perform to claims. Co-workers disclosed to investigators that test results shared with the government had been doctored. The software was reportedly responsible for a false terror alert which grounded international flights and caused Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
to raise the government's security level. And because the software was being tested for the military, the federal government is investigating. In February 2006, the FBI opened an economic espionage and theft of intellectual property investigation. The U.S. Air Force office of Special Investigations is also investigating.
Songwriting
Tim Blixseth kept his musical dream alive by writing and recording a song in 2001, "Pray for Peace," to raise money for victims of the 9/11 attacks. He founded and heads Friday Records. Tim Blixseth is listed as executive producer for Love & life sound recording with Eric BenétEric Benét
Eric Benét, is an American singer. His duet with Tamia, "Spend My Life With You" was a number one song for three weeks on the US Billboard R&B chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000....
. Heart of America
Heart of America
Heart of America is a charity single written by Tim Blixseth. The song was performed by Wynonna Judd, Michael McDonald, and Eric Benet before the third game of the 2005 World Series, in tribute to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. When the trio recorded the song in a studio, they were joined by...
is a charity single written by Tim Blixseth . The song was performed by Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna. Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds...
, Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald may refer to:*Michael McDonald , American "blue-eyed soul" singer*Michael McDonald , American actor-comedian*Michael McDonald , Jamaican runner...
, and Eric Benét to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Blixseth is also the listed producer for Hurricane
Hurricane (Eric Benét album)
- Musicians :* Spanky Alford – guitar, soloist* Eric Benét – audio production, vocal bass, percussion, producer, vocals* Chris Boardman – string arrangements* Chris Botti – soloist, trumpet* Randall Bowland – guitar * David Campbell – string arrangements...
.
Assets
The Blixseth assets at one time included Porcupine Creek, a 249 acres (1 km²) personal residence and private golf course, acquired by Oracle chairman and billionaire Larry EllisonLarry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's leading enterprise software companies. As of 2011, he is the third wealthiest American citizen, with an estimated worth of $33 billion.- Early life :Larry Ellison was born in the...
following Blixseth’s divorce and resulting bankruptcy.
Claimed to be part of their plans to expand the Yellowstone Club concept into a world-wide venture, Blixseth and wife Edra purchased Château de Farcheville
Château de Farcheville
The Château de Farcheville is a 14th century castle in Bouville near Paris in the department of Essonne.The castle was built by the Hugues II and Hugues III, Lords of Farcheville and Bouville. The great hall was built in 1291 and the castle chapel was consacrated in 1304. Both father and son were...
a 15 bedroom, 1000 acres (4 km²) French castle valued at $60 million and 265 acres (1.1 km²) at the famed St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland valued at $12 million. The Blixseth’s also purchased at least two mega-yachts worth $25 million: Tooth Fairy – 147’ Sterling motor yacht and Piano Bar – a 157’ Picchiotti motor yacht and a $36 million Gulfstream IV
Gulfstream IV
The Gulfstream IV and derivatives are a family of twin-jet aircraft, mainly for private or business use. The aircraft was designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United States from 1985 until 2003.-Design and development:Gulfstream, in...
private jet promoted to be part of the Yellowstone Club World venture. Blixseth's other high-price assets included a $400,000 Rolls Royce Phantom, a $300,000 Rolls Royce Corniche, a $200,000 BMW 760 and a $175,000 Aston Martin Volante
Aston Martin Volante
Volante is the name given to Aston Martin convertible models from the DB5-Based Short Chassis Volante. They include:* Short Chassis Volante* DB6 Volante* V8 Vantage Volante* V8 Volante * DB7 Volante* DB9 Volante...
. The castle, jet and yachts, like Porcupine Creek, are being sold off as part of Blixseth’s divorce and related bankruptcy filings.
Tim Blixseth’s other properties include his Medina, Washington
Medina, Washington
Medina is a city located in the Eastside, a region of King County, Washington, United States. Surrounded on the north, west, and south by Lake Washington, opposite Seattle, Medina is bordered by Clyde Hill and Hunts Point, as well as the satellite city of Bellevue. The city's population was 2,969...
home valued at $6 million, a private 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) island in the Turks & Caicos with a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) home called Emerald Cay listed for sale in 2011 at $75 million, a 2400 acres (9.7 km²) private Mexican beach and golf resort called El Tamarindo with an estimated worth of $40 million currently held in bond pending resolution of creditor suits in Montana Bankruptcy Court, and Casa Captiva, a 10000 square feet (929 m²) home in Los Cabos, Mexico valued at $12.85 million.
Divorce
Tim Blixseth's second divorce to wife Edra Denise Crocker was first touted in 2009 as a case study in amicable separations where the two hashed out their agreement over wine at a Hollywood hotel without attorneys. However, wife Edra and creditors later claimed Blixseth duped her into taking on debt encumbered assets while keeping cash and siphoning off liquid assets for himself. The debt burden which accompanied Ms. Crocker's portion of the divorce settlement subsequently forced her and the Yellowstone Club business into bankruptcy.While initially both were quoted amicably about each other and the divorce, the tide quickly changed as the details Ms. Blixseth's newly acquired financial debts came to light. Commenting on ex-husband Tim, Ms. Blixseth told the New York Times in 2009, "I would rather feel the cold steel of a revolver in the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger than to ever think about living a day with that man again." And, in text messages entered as evidence by the trustee for Edra Blixseth's estate, Tim Blixseth told her that she was "the center of evil" and declared "you and your gang are going to jail."
The trustee for Edra Blixseth's estate have filed a lawsuit against Tim Blixseth seeking to set aside their divorce settlement on the grounds of fraud, claiming she was swindled during the divorce, with her ex-husband taking the better half of their shared fortune and leaving her and the Club with massive debt from the Credit Suisse loan. Edra Blixseth was forced to sell Porkupine Creek Estate and golf course to Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's leading enterprise software companies. As of 2011, he is the third wealthiest American citizen, with an estimated worth of $33 billion.- Early life :Larry Ellison was born in the...
and also sell Chateau de Farcheville
Château de Farcheville
The Château de Farcheville is a 14th century castle in Bouville near Paris in the department of Essonne.The castle was built by the Hugues II and Hugues III, Lords of Farcheville and Bouville. The great hall was built in 1291 and the castle chapel was consacrated in 1304. Both father and son were...
in France, due to the bankruptcy. Blixseth has countered with claims of fraud and allegations that wife Edra is under criminal investigation for her role in defrauding investors and conspiring to steal the Club from him.
Litigation, bankruptcies and defaults
Blixseth’s personal and professional life has been marked by strings of well-publicized lawsuits. He, wife Edra and children (Matthew Crocker, Beau and Morgan Blixseth) are named parties in over 100 combined cases in a half dozen states involving bankruptcies, divorce, false claims, contract disputes, personal injury, fraud and racketeering. The Blixseth litigation saga now includes several suits against one another with husband, ex-wife and children suing one another.Blixseth's legal troubles also extend overseas to a 2009 investigation by the Government of the Turks & Caicos charging him with falsifying sales documents to avoid paying real estate transfer fees. According to the suit, Blixeth and his business partners are liable for an outstanding stamp duty of $1.7 million as well as a penalty of $7 million. Blixseth responded to the charges through his attorney Mike Flynn claiming the charges were an "extortionate attempt to extract money from Mr. Blixseth" and the real responsible parties were corrupt government officials. Claiming he was "set up" Blixseth vowed to fight the charges by "exposing all the corruptions" in the Turks & Caicos Islands. In June 2011, the Turks & Caicos government found Blixseth and the companies associated with the sale guilty of "a carefully crafted scheme of tax evasion" and ordered a judgement of US$1.25 million, pushing judgement on additional penalties to a later date.
Echoing a theme that his legal issues are the result of government corruption and conspiracies against him, in 2010 Blixseth filed suit to have Federal Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kischer removed from a case in which the judge issued a $40 million fraud judgement against him. Blixseth alleged the judge was biased against him and had conspired with Montana state government officials and the creditors suing Blixseth. The creditors, however, also disagree with the judge and have appealed his ruling claiming they are owed not $40 but $286 million by Blixseth. In response to the conspiracy and bias charges, Judge Kirscher ruled against Blixseth request for recusal noting, "This Court has not and will not succumb to any pressure, political or otherwise." Adding, Blixseth's "ultimate goal" appeared to be to upset prior rulings in the numerous cases against him pending various appeals.
In a separate bankruptcy case against Blixseth brought by California, Idaho and Montana tax officials in Nevada seeking tens of millions in allegedly unpaid taxes, Blixseth again claimed he was the victim of conspiracy and government corruption. "The state of Montana, the Montana Department of Revenue and their partners were in cahoots," Blixseth told the Associated Press claiming Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer conspired with his ex-wife Edra, Yellowstone Club creditors and the tax authorities in three states seeking to bring him down. Blixseth added, "It's completely and absolutely provable, and we will be bringing all the facts out shortly." The state tax authorities, creditors and Governor Schweitzer all denied the conspiracy claims as "baseless allegations" having "no factual basis." In a subsequent press release by his attorney Mike Flynn, Blixseth claimed, "All parties who played any role in the forced bankruptcy will now be subject to depositions, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer."
In June of 2011 Blixseth filed suit against one of his personal attorneys for legal malpractice and personal injury associated with the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy. Blixseth is seeking $375 million in damages claiming his former personal attorney Stephen Brown conspired to "plot against" him in bankruptcy proceedings which found Blixseth had looted the club prior to passing it debt-ridden to his wife Edra Blixseth as part of their divorce. Brown denied the claims. Blixseth's conspiracy and fraud allegations in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy were vacated in July of 2011 by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case who ruled the accusations were previously addressed and found without merit. Blixseth then filed suit against Credit Suisse and their appraisal company claiming they deceived and mislead him into accepting some $300 million in loan payments which eventually led to the resorts bankruptcy. A claim to which Credit Suisse responded, "This is simply the latest attempt to shift blame to others and away from his own conduct" in a Bloomberg News report which added,"Blixseth had, among other things, been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors in 2010 when a federal judge pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on a series of his fraudulent deals." Creditors are seeking an additional $286 million in alleged misappropriated funds which trustees claim Blixseth looted from the Yellowstone Club prior to its bankruptcy. Blixseth continues to fight these claims and seeks to have the various judgments against him vacated. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher, however, ruled against Blixseth's appeal seeking to unravel the Yellowstone Club Bankruptcy and claims against him on September 30, 2011. In his memorandum of decision ruling against Blixseth Kirscher wrote, "The Court is tasked with writing yet another chapter in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy saga, which has been ongoing for almost three years."
A list of Bixseth civil and bankruptcy related cases can be found here.
Blixseth quotes
- "It is once your ideas have been transformed into enough money, and if all failed, you would still live your lifestyle, and you understand that just because you have made more money than most, you are not better than the common person. We are all going to die broke." (Blixseth's definition of success) Tim Blixseth
- "I swore I was going to exclusively collect assets and not liabilities for the rest of my life. I swore never to take gambles I couldn’t back up, or that I couldn’t afford to lose. And, I’ve stuck with that ever since." Tim Blixseth
- "Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless." Tim Blixseth
- "The turning point, I think, was when I really realized that you can do it yourself. That you have to believe in you because sometimes that's the only person that does believe in your success but you." Tim Blixseth