Judge Tampa to hear contense over Govoni’s court discovery

TAMPA – After blowing several deadlines to provide financial documents, the FBI is investigating clearwater businessman looking into trust fund money, facing a court hearing on Friday, as he is investigating more than $100 million in trust fund money.

Federal judge Roberta Colton hears evidence as to whether Leo Govoni is thumbing his nose in a court order requiring that he produce a document detailing both personal and business assets. These include his personal assets and a financial overview of the Boston Finance Group. The authorities say that trust funds sent to other Govoni companies, including Big Storm Brewing, have been lost.

At Monday’s hearing, Colton seemed to have lost patience with Govoni. Govoni tuned in a video conference with his new bankruptcy lawyer, Buddy Ford. He was directed to provide documents at court orders held on March 10, March 26 and April 24, Colton said.

The judge said he will consider Govoni’s financial penalties, but is also open to debates about “forced imprisonment” where Govoni will be incarcerated until the document is prepared. She also said she was open to refer to the findings of light empt against a U.S. District Court judge who has the authority to file a criminal cont crime.

The evidence against Govoni is presented by lawyers working with Michael Goldberg, an attorney appointed bankruptcy councillor for the St. Petersburg nonprofit that administered the trust fund.

This document is necessary to identify and retrieve Govoni’s business and personal assets, and to identify and retrieve a network of companies that the Trust Fund can sell to return money to families that have been attacked.

Stephen Worth, one of the lawyers working with the trustee, told Colton that Gobony ultimately provided a signed form detailing his personal assets, but it was incomplete and did not include a list of companies that testified that they already had ownership.

“They were produced almost not enough,” Worth said.

Ford told Colton that a court order has been blocked since bankruptcy officers were in charge of his business facility on 49th Avenue north of Clearwater. He also said Govoni needs to access one of his computers.

However, Govoni, who was prohibited from entering an office building by court order, was given supervised access to the premises to prepare the requested documents. Instead, he used these two hours to collect personal belongings and photos of his family, Worth said at a previous court hearing.

Govoni has not been charged with a crime, but is under investigation by the FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

The Special Neads Trust Administration Center, a St. Petersburg nonprofit founded by Govoni, has moved $100 million to the Boston Finance Company over a decade, according to bankruptcy court records. The transaction was recorded as a loan but was not repaid.

The funds were taken from a trust fund that was established to manage damages caused to victims of road crashes, medical malpractice and other lawsuits, court records say.

As the guarantor of the loan, Colton determined that Govoni will be liable for the money in the missing trust fund and the additional $20 million in interest.