Writing off Blame

Having been affiliated with the accounting profession for the past dozen years and in my former life as a sports correspondent, you can imagine I’ve heard some incredulous tales of athletes and celebrities earning obscene amounts of money and just a few short years later, find themselves penniless and in arrears to the IRS for millions.

Space and time prevent me from compiling even a short list – okay, boxer Mike Tyson who made $425 million in earnings over his 15-year career, wound up $30 million in debt. How about former NBA star Latrell Sprewell who was all set to sail aboard his yacht, until it was repossessed with him standing at the dock. That takes embarrassing to a new standard, especially if he was wearing a captain’s hat.

And I could go on. And on. 

Invariably though, a common thread for the above-mentioned financial implosions is that the now bankrupt athlete or entertainer rarely accepts the blame for their fiscal malaise.  It’s always someone else’s fault. Just once, I want to hear someone, anyone, stand up and say, “Yep, it’s all on me.”

I have a better chance of convincing a toll booth collector that the car behind me is going to pay.

But what caught my eye in this arena recently was litigation filed by best-selling crime author Patricia Cornwell who filed and subsequently won a $50.9 million lawsuit against her former New York-based accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin and the financial manager who oversaw her portfolio. The author whose best sellers feature the character of Kay Scarpetta, a forensic examiner, told the jury she had just $13 million left in her bank account despite earning north of $10 million per year. She cited the firm for dispensing bad financial advice, speculating in sour real estate deals and employing “an overly aggressive investment strategy.”

Wait, it gets better.

In order to pare down her debts, Cornwell claimed she had been forced to sell off her personal helicopter, along with several homes and sports cars such as Ferraris and a Bentley Continental GT Speed.

Stop, I’m getting misty.

Conversely, defense lawyers for Anchin pointed out that Cornwell’s spending habits rivaled the Sultan of Brunei and among her caprices were a $40,000 a month apartment at Trump Tower in New York City, $5 million for private jets, and $11 million for estates in Concord, Mass.

Cornwell also blamed the firm for causing her to blow a deadline for the very first time, leading to the loss of $15 million in book advances and commissions, when Anchin was unable to find her a quiet place to write during the renovation of her estate.

And those of us who live in New York always thought Bronx and Brooklyn juries were naïve.

Okay, no doubt the firm should shoulder some of the blame. For instance, why didn’t the firm have an LLC or some other entity to oversee financial planning matters as to shield the other areas of the practice from any legal blame? And as far as finding her a quiet place to concentrate, somehow I doubt that service was included in the scope of the engagement and probably should have been.

But this whole vignette gives me an idea for a sure-fire best seller.

Nah, I’ll just wind up making millions and blame someone else when it’s gone.