Posted on 01/31/2009 8:05:33 PM PST by Fred
Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. signed a contract to pay Wayne Lee $50 million for a "consulting agreement" after he quit as chief executive officer of the Orange-based subprime lender in 2005.
Lee's five-year deal barred him from competing with or disparaging Ameriquest while requiring him to work a maximum 25 hours every three months.
That meant Lee was paid $100,000 an hour – about half as much as the $237,000 Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant earns per regular season game.
Many people have heard of Bryant, the National Basketball Association's 2008 most valuable player. Lee is less famous.
In fact, Ameriquest spokesman Chris Orlando said he couldn't find a photo of Lee, who worked for Ameriquest for 15 years, including a year as its CEO.
Lee's payday is now the target of a federal lawsuit brought by a group of Ameriquest borrowers in Illinois. The suit argues Ameriquest paid Lee "hush money" to keep its predatory lending secret and to keep cash away from others with claims against the company.
Bernard LeSage, an attorney for Ameriquest and Lee, called the lawsuit "hogwash" and said his clients will prevail.
"The bottom line is it's wrong and there are lots of factual and legal errors," LeSage said.
'THE HEIGHT OF IRRESPONSIBILITY'
Whichever side prevails, the case of Terry v. Ameriquest Mortgage Company has plenty of company in court – and beyond. A rising tide of private lawsuits, government investigations and public pressure seeks payback from executives who received lavish paychecks for running companies that boomed and went bust when the financial bubble popped.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Since 2002, Arnall had given campaign contributions to California politicians including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the 2003-2005 period, Arnall and his wife raised more than $12 million for George W. Bush’s political efforts, including $5 million for the Progress for America Voter Fund, a self-proclaimed “conservative issue advocacy organization dedicated to keeping the issue record straight.” In 2004 he was one of the top 10 donors to the Republican Party.[6]
Mrs. Arnall also served as a co-chair for the 2004 Republican Convention and hosted a $1 million Bush-Cheney fund-raiser at the couple’s 10-acre (40,000 m2) home in Holmby Hills. In 2005, Ameriquest Capital and three of its subsidiaries comprised four of the 53 entities that each contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.[7][8] Writes USA Today, “Inaugural fundraisers Dawn and Roland Arnall found a creative way to pump more than the $250,000 limit into the event. Their mortgage firm, Ameriquest Capital, contributed the maximum, as did three subsidiaries, for a total of $1 million. The company declined to comment on its political giving.”[9]
In order to circumvent campaign finance laws, Arnall mandated that Ameriquest staffers, on company time, solicit campaign contributions from vendors and directed to selected candidates, including Antonio Villaregosa, now Mayor of Los Angeles, CA.
Dawn Arnall Contribution List in 2008
Name & Location Employer/Occupation Dollar
Amount Date Primary/
General Contibuted To
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 N/A/Homemaker
$2,300 10/15/2007 P KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR CONGRESS - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 N/A/Homemaker
$200 10/15/2007 G KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR CONGRESS - Republican
ARNALL, DAWN
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 AMERIQUEST/EXECUTIVE $2,500 10/15/2007 P MAJORITY COMMITTEE PAC—MC PAC
Arnall, Dawn L. Mrs.
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Ameriquest Mortgage/Co-Chairman of $1,800 09/13/2007 P ED ROYCE FOR CONGRESS - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Ameriquest/Home Loans $10,000 05/25/2007 P REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Ameriquest/Home Loans $10,000 10/04/2006 P REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 N/A/Homemaker $2,100 08/03/2006 G KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR CONGRESS - Republican
ARNALL, DAWN L
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 AMERIQUEST CAPITAL CORP/CO-CHAIR $1,900 03/21/2006 G BEN CARDIN FOR SENATE - Democrat
ARNALL, DAWN L
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 AMERIQUEST CAPITAL CORP/CO-CHAIR $2,100 03/21/2006 P BEN CARDIN FOR SENATE - Democrat
ARNALL, DAWN
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 AMERIQUEST CAPITAL CORP $2,000 02/28/2006 P MCCONNELL SENATE COMMITTEE ‘08 - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Ameriquest Capital Corp./Co-Chair $2,000 09/15/2005 P BERMAN FOR CONGRESS - Democrat
Arnall, Dawn
ORANGE, CA
92868 Ameriquest Mortgage Company/Chairwo $5,000 06/25/2005 P ITS MY PARTY
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 $-10,000 06/17/2005 P CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY/VICTORY 2006 - Republican
Arnall, Dawn L Mrs.
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Self/Housewife $15,000 05/18/2005 P NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE - Republican
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 Ameriquest Capital Corporation/Chai $2,500 04/26/2005 P RELY ON YOUR BELIEFS FUND
Arnall, Dawn
LOS ANGELES, CA
90048 $-1,000 03/04/2005 P CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY/VICTORY 2006 - Republican
Since 2004, the Arnalls have given more than $12 million to GOP causes and candidates, becoming the heaviest donors to the 2004 election cycle, including the Republican National Convention and Bush’s inaugural celebration, campaign finance records showed.
Arnall said Bush won his support because of his pro-Israel stance. He maintained that he supported individuals, not parties, and continued to donate to certain Democrats, including many members of the Latino Caucus in the state Legislature. Even while giving $1.4 million to Schwarzenegger and his campaign committees, the Arnalls donated $130,000 to Davis, plus $100,000 more to oppose Davis’ recall.
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