Nicholson drive development

In time for what?

Stanford exec testifies Moreno lost $20M

Published Jan 30, 2012 at 3:14 pm (Updated Jan 30, 2012)
A Lafayette businessman who owns a significant chunk of land on Nicholson Drive lost at least $20 million in the alleged Ponzi scheme perpetuated by R. Allen Stanford before the Stanford Group was closed by U.S. regulators, a former Stanford executive from Baton Rouge has testified.

Bloomberg reports Jason Green, who led Stanford Group's private-client group, named Mike Moreno of Lafayette as having lost approximately $20 million; Green was being cross-examined by the defense on the fifth day of Stanford's investor fraud trial in federal court in Houston and is believed to have been referring to the CEO of Moreno Group, a major offshore service company based in Lafayette. A message left for Moreno at the company's headquarters Monday was not immediately returned.

Moreno was among 49 investors U.S court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey identified as having removed $27 million from certificate of deposit accounts in 2009 as the SEC was shutting Stanford Group down.

Green testified that Moreno entrusted Stanford's business with almost $50 million before withdrawing some of those funds to address a tax obligation. A $20 million withdrawal request was made shortly before Stanford stopped allowing clients to redeem CDs before their maturity date to stanch the outflow of capital as the global financial crisis deepened.

Moreno—who has amassed an empire in Dynamic Industries, Dynamic Offshore Resources and related Moreno Group companies—has plans for building a smart-growth, new-urbanist development on 30 acres near Magnolia Mound Plantation, tentatively dubbed River District. It marks his first major go-round in the speculative real estate market. He has declined to discuss the investment, which has been mired in confusion regarding its management and which is also the subject of a lawsuit.

Stanford, 61, who was indicted in June 2009, is accused of leading a $7 billion investment fraud centered on CD sales. He is charged with 14 counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of an SEC probe. He denies the charges.

Moreno reportedly leaves Louisiana

Published Oct 13, 2011 at 6:00 am (Updated Oct 16, 2011)
Sources close to the Moreno Group say Mike Moreno has relocated from Lafayette to Dallas, put his luxury River Ranch mansion on the sale block and is no longer involved in the day-to-day management of the local energy behemoth, the The Independent Weekly in Lafayette reports. Moreno Group, headquartered in Lafayette, recently ranked No. 1 on ABiz's list of Acadiana's Top 50 Privately Held Companies, reporting $616 million in 2010 revenue. "Always the risk-taker, Moreno, who is in his early 40s, is in the process of developing a new business in Dallas," the newspaper reports. "He still owns approximately 50% of Moreno Group." To read The Independent's full story on Moreno, click here. A June 2010 Business Report cover story about Moreno's plan to build a smart-growth, new-urbanist development on 30 acres near Magnolia Mound Plantation is available here.

I'm cool with it as long as it doesn't mess up my drive into campus on gameday.

he paid way too much for that land...

An for the time being he has a GIGANTIC yard.

There isn't a house left on the west side of Nicholson.

the only problem I see with this plan is the pretty large ghetto that separates the gates of LSU, downtown, and this parcel of land.

here's an illustration:

Painfully poignant illustration. Lived in that ghetto during school days when it was just bohemian and hip. A slippery slope I guess.

did anyone mention they paid too much for this land?