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I know about this property. It was originally acquired by Precision Development LLC, in or around 2006 – using Bronfman funds but without Bronfman’s owning any part of Precision.
I acquired controlling ownership interest in Precision LLC for the Bronfmans in January 2008. Therefore, the Bronfmans have had an ownership interest in the property on Libbet since 2008 and not, as the report says, since 2017.
They may have, over the years, transferred it to various shell companies making it appear that Clare just recently acquired this property. The transfer of property from one shell company to another may have been done to defraud creditors, cheat partners, or avoid paying taxes – all of which are well-worn pages in Keith Raniere’s Executive Success Programs playbook.
The Libbet property is one of the numerous properties in the Los Angeles area that Clare may have chosen not to disclose an ownership interest in when she submitted a financial affidavit to the court, prior to her bail hearing.
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As for Libbet, it is a vacant lot – about an acre in size. It has been vacant since at least 2007. There was an older building on it when it was first purchased by Precision and, if I recall correctly, it was demolished after Precision acquired the property in or about 2006.
Here is a brief report submitted to me by Yuri Plyam about the Libbet property on or about December 2007.
“4147 Libbit is [to be developed into] a 33 unit condo project south of Ventura Blvd. Immediate area consists of multi-million dollar homes. Samuel Jackson, John Travolta, David Hasselhoff, and Michael Jackson’s family all live in the immediate areas.
“There are a handful of condominium units south of Ventura Blvd. in Encino. The property has been appraised at $27,900,000 by Cathay Bank. Purchased property for $6,600,000 and paid approx. $600,000 to improve thus far.
“Permit will be issued in 2 weeks. Completion is expected in 20 months. Construction cost and land should total approx. $16,000,000 in cost. Estimation of sale is approx. $26,500,000 for the entire project at completion. Each unit is approx. 1750-1850 square feet and has an appealing layout. Median condo price in the area (this is very exclusive part of the area) is approx. $433 per square foot.”
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At the time of my securing controlling interest in Precision LLC for the Bronfmans, in January 2008, the approvals and permits for a 33- unit luxury condo project were already in place for the Libbet property (It had cost more than $1 million to secure those approvals and permits). The sit was “shovel-ready” – meaning that construction could have started at any time.
But Keith Raniere did not want to develop property. He was too busy suing enemies and trying to get them indicted. So, the Libbet property sat vacant for more than a decade — and, during that time, the approvals and permits expired.
I suspect that Clare Bronfman is not really interested in developing this property.
So, why go for municipal permits and other approvals now? Because if she gets them – such as zoning, planning, environmental, etc. – she can sell the property to a developer as a “shovel ready” project – which makes it worth more.
She may need the cash to fund the more than 20 criminal lawyers she’s believed to be paying for now – for herself and some, or all, of the NXIVM defendants. More lawyers will be needed if more defendants are charged in an expected superseding indictment.
I believe Clare is highly motivated to pay for the NXIVM defendants’ attorneys – not because she’s generous – but to help ensure they don’t cave and take plea deals and testify against her and Raniere – something that is very likely to occur shortly after they are forced to take public defenders.
In the past, Clare Bronfman was never interested in building or developing anything. Her business was to help Raniere destroy people. I know: I was one of them.
It is ironic. I got her and her sister ownership of this property – and I was planning to develop it with her as part of a partnership. Had she not turned against me and sought to imprison me, this would have been developed by now and she would have realized her share of more than $10 million in profits.
It is ironic. Her perjury-based criminal complaint in 2011 led to my indictment (.The Bronfman charges were dropped against me this year). Now, she is trying to do something with the property I acquired for her.
My guess is she will be using the proceeds of the sale of this property to pay for lawyers to prevent her from going to prison – a task she may very likely fail to accomplish.