Financial issues dominated the headlines this week in Wayzata as a local restaurateur finds himself in the cross hairs of a local bank, a formerly Wayzata based hedge fund was sued and frozen by the feds, and a mortgage broker from Wayzata entered into a plea bargain over fraud charges. On the lighter side, the City awarded a major contract, and a the local hockey team gets ready for playoff action. Here we go again, the Top 5 Stories of the Week from Wayzata.com.
- Dean Vlahos, owner of Redstone, was sued by Signature Bank of Minnetonka for not making payments towards $5.5 million in loans. He and his estranged wife Michelle are also in hot water as their Lake Minnetonka residence nears foreclosure. Additionally, Vlahos is one of the owners in negotiations with the City of Wayzata for the property located at 800 Superior, a key parcel for the redevelopment of the Wayzata Bay Center.
- A former Wayzata hedge fund that moved to San Francisco was sued by the SEC and frozen by a Federal Judge. The fund, called Paramount Partners, has been run by John Lawton who has collected nearly $16 million from mostly Minnesota Investors, but holds only $1.3 million in assets on the balance sheets.
- Johnny Phong Nguyen, Wayzata, entered his guilty plea to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering in Minneapolis before United States District Court Judge Michael Davis.
- During a City Council meeting in which there was only really one item on the agenda, The City of Wayzata awarded the Water Treatment Plant contract to Municipal Builders, Inc. and construction is expected to begin shortly.
- Wayzata Boys Hockey 2009 was seeded third in the Section 6AA tournament as they defeated Armstrong 4-2 on Saturday.
