Pretty in Pink: Ponzi Schemer's Gawdy Toys Sold
Lamborghini & Ferraris hit auction block to pay off "Mini-Rothstein's" victims
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Sean and Shalese Healy.
Sean Healy's Ponzi scheme may pale in comparison to Scott Rothstein's, but if there's one thing the two had in common, it was the pricey toys.
An auction of the lesser-known Weston scammer was held yesterday to sell off the over $1 million worth of horsepower that once graced the Healy home.
At the center of the auction: a custom Lamborghini, all trimmed in pink, made especially for Healy's ex-Hooters girl wife.
Gawdy, maybe even obnoxious, there was no doubt the pink car stood out.
"We had interest from all over the country on this car," said the auctioneer, as he started the bidding at $133,000. "There's someone for this car."
"Yeah, his name is Liberace, and he's dead!" a bidder exclaimed.
The Lamborghini was just the tip of the iceberg. Also for sale were another Lamborghini, this one yellow, valued at $250,000; a red Ferrari, also valued at $250,000; two matching black Porches, worth $125,000; a stretch limo valued at $100,000; and a Hummer golf cart, worth $35,000.
The cars are the ill-gotten gains of Healy, whose scheme bilked investors out of an estimated $20 million, a paltry sum compared to Rothstein's estimated $1.2 billion. Healy has plead guilty to the scam, and is in jail awaiting sentencing.
Healy, 38, went on a massive spending spree with his wife, Shalese. In just two years, the couple bought a $2.4 million mansion in Weston, which used to belong to Bernie Kosar, then dropped another $2 million on improvements. They spent nearly $1.5 million on expensive jewelry, as Healy began an extensive collection of sports and music memorabilia.
But yesterday, it was all about the cars.
"Well, I think it's a lot of money to spend on a car, but considering what the car was purchased for, I think we got a good deal," said Rhea Chiles.
Chiles, the daughter of former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, swooped up the red Ferrari for $169,000.
"I wanted to get something for Valentine's Day, so nothing like a red Ferrari," she said.
Joshua Spector, a lawyer for one of Healy's victims, took in the auction.
"Well, we're happy to see some recovery and that the receiver's acting on this," Spector said. "At the same time, these items are going for so much less than the Healys paid for them, that it kind of compounds the injury that the victims have felt throughout this process."
Though the Healys lived high on the hog for a short while, Chiles said his downfall serves as a cautionary tale.
"I think it sends a message to anyone that would consider ripping people off that you're gonna get caught and we're not gonna tolerate it as a nation," she said.
Posted Thursday, Feb 4, 2010 - 7:20 AM EST
