AN ACCOUNT into which Gayle Killilea Dunne transferred $500,000 in November 2010 as part of a US visa application process no longer exists, a New York court has been told.
Ms Dunne, wife of the property developer Seán Dunne, fears her solicitor to whom she entrusted the funds has misappropriated them.
She has told the court that, on November 17th last, she transferred the money on the advice of her attorney Phillip Teplen to an escrow account of his firm, Teplen Associates, at TD Bank.
A letter dated December 23rd, 2010, from the New Jersey bank to the New York Court says it could not locate such account. The letter was put up on the court’s website yesterday. The letter supports claims by attorneys for Ms Dunne that Mr Teplen has informed them the money had been removed. The court has been told by her New York attorney, Jordan Stern, that it has since discovered Mr Teplen may have financial problems.
Teplen Associates, which has offices in the Empire State Building in Manhattan, provides immigration advice. Ms Dunne retained Mr Teplen in November in relation to a proposed “investment visa application”.
Ms Dunne’s visa application was to be based on real estate investments in Chicago. On Mr Teplen’s advice, she forwarded the funds to the escrow account to show immigration that she had funds.
However, Ms Dunne changed her mind about the Chicago investment, the court has been told. She informed Mr Teplen by e-mail on November 24th that she was considering making other investments in support of an investment visa application.
On Friday, December 10th, she told her attorney to transfer “straight away” $170,000 from the escrow account to another legal firm to be used in a new property investment which would form part of a visa application.
This firm, Heagney, Lennon Slane, acts for Mountbrook USA, a Connecticut company established in May 2010 and of which Ms Dunne is the owner.
On the following day Mr Teplen replied by e-mail to Ms Dunne attempting to persuade her not to withdraw the money, according to a filing made on her behalf.
She replied, saying she wanted the funds transferred “first thing Monday morning”.
When speaking by phone the following day, a Sunday, Ms Dunne was informed by Mr Teplen that her visa application had been submitted, describing the $500,000 as working capital. Ms Dunne said she was surprised by this and had not authorised it.
She told her attorney to return all the $500,000 even if it meant the visa application had to be withdrawn. She said Mr Teplen agreed. However, the funds were not transferred.
On Wednesday December 15th, Mr Teplen said he had been busy as his partner, Lola, had been unwell. The following day George Mayer, an attorney acting for Mr Teplen, contacted Jack Slane of the Heagney firm and “stated that Teplen did not have the funds in the escrow to return to Dunne”.
On Friday, Ms Dunne made her sixth demand that the funds be returned and said she was considering seeking judicial relief. Mr Teplen texted her he would return the funds some time in the future, and again mentioned family health problems. The court has been told that the house where Mr Teplen’s estranged wife lives is the subject of mortgage foreclosure proceedings and has judgments registered against it. The court has also been told another plaintiff has initiated proceedings in relation to recovering escrow funds.
Ms Dunne’s attorneys have said she fears Mr Teplen may have used her funds to pay healthcare expenses. Neither party could be contacted yesterday.
The company filings for Mountbrook USA give Ms Dunne’s residence as 38 Bush Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut. The house was bought for $2 million in April 2010, with Mr Teplen buying it in trust. The house has since been substantially demolished, creating difficulties with the local planning authorities.
Mr Dunne and his Irish Mountbrook group owe enormous sums to Irish and foreign banks arising from his property dealings here.
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