Axium Fallout Continues: Why Was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model and Soft Core Porn Actress Amber Smith On The Payroll?

Mark Graham — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:37:17 EST

The bombshell allegations against the partners of Axium, the Hollywood payroll company that recently declared emergency Chapter 7 bankruptcy, keep coming. According to court documents filed in the United States District Court (Central District of CA division), Goldentree Asset Management is taking partners John Visconti and Ron Garber to court for "diverting untold millions of dollars in cash and other assets to secret bank accounts" and "using Axium as their own personal piggy bank to finance their extravagant lifestyles." Zing! Thanks to our base of well-connected tipsters, we got our hands on PDFs of the court filings. We read through the 35-page document and picked out the juiciest moments for your enjoyment. We're talking multiple identities, cash payments to former supermodels for "consulting" and all sorts of other general shadiness not seen since the halcyon days of Enron. Trust us, it's GOLD.

The documents, portions of which we have placed below for your consumption, allege:

· THAT Axium funds were used to pay for an apartment and automobile for former SI Swimsuit and soft-core porn actress (link NSFW) Amber Smith. She also allegedly received numerous "large payments" by her work as a "consultant." (Page 12)
· THAT John Visconti doesn't only answer to the name John Visconti (as we asserted the other day). He also answers to the names Bijan Manoochehri and John Manocheri! (Page 1)
· THAT John Visconti has been issued and uses multiple social security numbers (Page 4)
· THAT the partners gave themselves a monthly allocation to lease ultra-luxury cars, including a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Range Rover, a Maserti Quattroporte, an Aston Martin convertible and a Bentley Coupe, at an annual cost of $462,000!
· THAT the duo milked the company for $500,000 to $1 million in annual private jet expenses for non-business-related trips. (Page 10)
· THAT an armored car delivered the two $8,000 cash per week beginning in 2005. (Page 11)
· THAT Visconti racked up a $40,000 Tiffany's bill on his corporate AMEX card for Valentine's Day presents, funds which were never reimbursed. (Page 11)
· THAT the defendants used Axium funds to pay the IRS tens of millions of dollars in previously undisclosed tax liabilities (Page 3)
· THAT Visconti's "Calle Vista Property" (90210!) has repeatedly been transferred back and forth between UAF and John Visconti under a "bona fide gifts" tax provision. (Page 5)
· THAT the two partners "exerted and maintained domination" of the company by mandating that any email sent by Axium's officers to one of the partners MUST include a copy to the other partner. (Page 8)

Phew, did you get all that? More to follow, keep those tips coming!

Axium: The Enron Of The Payroll Services World?

Mark Graham — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:09:18 EST

It's looking more and more like Axium's downfall may have been the result of the brass illicitly dipping their hands into the company cookie jar. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that their president, Ruben Rodriguez, is no longer with the firm AND that the IRS is hot on the trail. To that end, we'd like to share this email from a tipster who used to work with the deep-sixed and Chapter 7'd payroll and accounting service:

"The reason for this is all because of the two owners [Ron Garber and John Visconti]. They mismanaged funds and sent a very profitable company and all of its employees and production payroll clients down the drain. They could have fixed things but decided not to. All 350 plus employees were notified via email not to show up for work and are most likely not going to be paid for their last week or two. Nobody had any idea this was going to happen since everything had been going so well. It is like another Enron."

Got any more info? Email us!

Gawker: defamer, rhymes with shmembezzlement

Axium Fallout Continues: Why Was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model and Soft Core Porn Actress Amber Smith On The Payroll?

Axium: The Enron Of The Payroll Services World?