Had a house but couldn't keep her (UPDATED)

373 Taconic Road, designed by the late, gifted, Rick Moisan, sold new in 2005 for $9.350 million. That buyer put in some additional finishing touches, including a pool and spa, and attempted to resell it, an effort that began at $9.750 in 2016, and finally ended in 2020 when he unloaded it for just $4.6 million. That was a bargain, but apparently too tempting a one for the impecunious buyer; he couldn’t afford to keep it, and it’s been put up for sale today by his bankruptcy trustee for $7.1.

That’s probably still a good deal.

UPDATE: Reader “Revere” reminds me that this owner’s financial (and other) woes extend far beyond mere bankruptcy. In fact, I wrote about his difficulties last year, twice, but forgot that I had.

April 5, 2023:

The woes of Billionaire fraudster Ho Wan Kwok/Guo Wengui were discussed here last month when the FBI raided his home at 373 Taconic Road. In the latest development, Mr. Ho has requested that he be allowed to move from his current Manhattan residence in the Metropolitan Detention Center to his old Taconic home. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be back in town soon, however; not if the feds have their way.

Wengui, 54, who was arrested on an indictment last month under the name Ho Wan Kwok, is in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., facing several charges, including wire and securities fraud and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors said Wengui used the proceeds from the fraud scheme to purchase and maintain his homes and a 145-foot luxury yacht, which former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon was aboard when he was arrested in 2020 in Long Island Sound, the court documents show. 

Under the terms of a motion filed by his attorneys, Wengui would put up $25 million in bond, surrender his travel documents and those of his wife and daughter in the U.S., and be subject to home detention at his mansion in Greenwich.

The terms outlined in the court memo also state Wengui would agree to GPS monitoring, not enter into any financial transactions without the government's approval or have contact with the co-defendants, as well as "24/7 surveillance by a security company." 

In court documents, the government said Wengui was known to travel between his Greenwich home and others in New York City and New Jersey in a "caravan of luxury automobiles" while surrounded by "around-the-clock armed security guards," paid with the proceeds of fraud.

But the government balked at the request to allow Wengui to spend his time in the lead up to a trial at the Greenwich home, which they allege was purchased with the proceeds of fraud. 

"To say the least, it would be inappropriate for Kwok to live in the palatial Greenwich estate that he maintained with the proceeds of his fraud as a means of avoiding pretrial detention," prosecutors wrote in response to the request.

Point, counterpoint:

His lawyers argued Wengui is not a flight risk because he is wanted by authorities in China, where he would likely face execution.

But the government suggested if Wengui was released, he could flee to the United Arab Emirates, where his business enterprises have a presence. The government noted in court documents that only two of his passports have been located, and Wengui is suspected of having as many as 11.

Prediction? “Gu ain’t going nowhere.”