October 15, 2010
Colleagues:
Ted Forstmann, our Chairman and CEO, has been the target of a financial stalker for more than four years. This individual is the person who filed the lawsuit that was the subject of the report on TMZ.
This highly unstable individual wrote an apology letter to Mr. Forstmann last year in which he stated, "I deeply regret falsely attacking your character and falsely describing your activities…." Unfortunately, he has resorted again to the same vicious and false attacks.
A lawsuit similar to the one filed today was dismissed last year. Mr. Forstmann's attorneys are confident that this lawsuit will meet the same fate. Sadly, however, even though this lawsuit will ultimately be dismissed, in today's society individuals can use litigation to garner media attention to target wealthy, well-known people in an attempt to extract money.
The individual who filed this lawsuit has had 42 different addresses in the last 20 years. He has 19 judgments and liens filed against him and he owes his creditors several hundred thousand dollars and has told Mr. Forstmann that he is under investigation by the IRS.
In an April 23, 2010 email, this person admitted that he had hit “rock bottom.” He wrote: “I have in the past, and am presently, experiencing health issues. Furthermore, I was evicted from my three previous residences, my car was repossessed, my residence has been burglarized three times (twice while I was hiding in the next room) resulting in a substantial financial loss. I have been kicked out of both golf clubs and no longer play golf. I am still massively in debt to the government…”
Having consulted with a former senior law enforcement official whom he happens to know, Mr. Forstmann was told, "We don’t want to find out exactly how unstable this individual is after it’s too late.” Based on that statement and the advice of this respected official, Mr. Forstmann has hired a personal security detail.
We intend to hand over all of the relevant information to the appropriate criminal authorities and to ask them to prosecute this individual to the fullest extent of the law. We also will seek sanctions against his lawyer for his role in this effort.
Attached is the apology written by the individual in April 2009.
As more information becomes available, we will keep you informed.
Jim Gallagher
Senior Vice President
Chief Communications Officer
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