Former Lehman CEO Sells Florida Mansion to Wife for $10

Richard S. Fuld, Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers, recently sold his $13.75 million Florida home to his wife Kathryn for $10:

The motivation is unclear, but Mr. Fuld has been under intense scrutiny since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September. The longtime leader of the brokerage firm is at the center of a federal investigation into whether Lehman executives misled investors about the state of the company. ...

It is possible that he is now transferring properties because of his fears of investor lawsuits or a possible bankruptcy, lawyers in Florida said. “This is the oldest trick in the books” said Eric S. Ruff, a lawyer with Ruff & Cohen in Gainesville, Fla. “It’s common when you hear the feet of your creditors approaching to divest yourself.” ...

It is also unclear how much Mrs. Fuld paid for the house. It is standard for property deeds to contain a placeholder number. The $10 on the deed in Martin County could simply be a placeholder, and Mrs. Fuld might have paid more, lawyers said. The tax stamp on the deed says there were 70 cents of taxes, which would suggest that she may have paid as much as $100 for the house.

• New York Times
• Reuters