David L. Paul
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Columbia University (M.B.A)
Columbia University (J.D)
David L. Paul | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1, 1939 Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | January 18, 2022 (aged 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) Columbia University (M.B.A) Columbia University (J.D) |
| Occupations | real estate developer, banker, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Lynn P. Goelet (divorced) Joy Fererh Germont Simons (divorced) Sandy Paul |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Bruce Wolosoff (brother-in-law) Robert A. Paul (brother) |
David Lewis Paul (May 1, 1939 – January 18, 2022) was an American banker, real estate developer, philanthropist, and founder of CenTrust Bank.
Paul was born in on May 1, 1939, in Miami[1][2] to a Jewish family, the son of Ruth (née Goldstein) and Isadore Paul.[3] His father founded a chain of dry cleaning stores and died when he was ten.[3] His mother then moved with her two sons to Scranton, Pennsylvania.[citation needed] Paul graduated from the Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut and then the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[4]
He started his career in Connecticut where his company, Paul Properties, built two controversial apartment buildings.[3] He then took control of a Massachusetts Real Estate Investment Trust called the Westport Company.[3] In 1979, Westport purchased the American Furniture Mart in Chicago for $6.5 million with plans to convert it into apartments.[5] In 1983, Paul purchased the near bankrupt Dade Savings and Loan Association through the transfer of 92% of his interest in Westport,[5] renaming it CenTrust Bank.[3] By 1988, CenTrust was the largest thrift institution in the southeastern United States with $8.2 billion in assets.[3] He built the $90 million, I.M. Pei-designed CenTrust Tower.[3] In November 1988, he was admitted to the Non-Group, a highly influential group of Miami-Dade business elites.[6]
In 1989, CenTrust lost $119 million[3] and in 1990, Centrust lost $1.7 billion and was seized by the federal government[7] after "excessive and inappropriate expenses and investments."[3] Paul was ousted as chairman.[7]
Conviction
On November 25, 1993, Paul was convicted of fraud in Federal Court for making personal use of CenTrust's funds while the savings and loan was failing.[7] Paul was convicted on 68 counts consisting of 47 counts of bank fraud, 9 of misapplication of Centrust funds, 5 of filing false tax returns, 4 of mail fraud, 2 of obstruction of regulators, one count of conspiracy and one count of making false entries on Centrust books.[7] Facing a maximum of 350 years in prison[7] he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $65 million ($60 million in restitution and a $5 million fine).[8] He was released in 2004.[9]