By Matthew Hathaway, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Apr. 20--LAKE SAINT LOUIS --It's hard to build one of the area's biggest, glitziest mansions and not get attention. Especially in the middle of a recession.
Whatever the sins of US Fidelis, it shouldn't be surprising that the Wentzville-based firm wasn't closely scrutinized until 2007, when founder Darain Atkinson started construction on his 20,752-square-foot compound.
Now, the house US Fidelis built is up for sale. The listed price of $14.9 million falls at least $2 million short of the anticipated construction and land-acquisition costs.
The compound has illustrated stories of alleged fraud, from this newspaper to NBC's "Today" show. Consumer advocates cited the compound's lavishness as proof that something was amiss at US Fidelis.
So while builders worked on the home's beauty parlor, bowling alley and observation tower, regulators started asking questions about how US Fidelis could be successful enough to pay for the palace.
And records now show that it was the company -- not Atkinson -- that often paid the bills.
According to its bankruptcy filing, US Fidelis recorded 331 payments totaling about $7.2 million on expenses related to the compound's construction. They included $351,219 to an architectural blacksmith; $225,190 to a landscaping company; $273,741 to a New York firm that designs home cinemas; $278,349 to St. Louis-based Metro Lighting and a whooping $926,983 to Pacific-based Kirkwood Stair and Millwork.
If seller's agent Gillian Noero can find a buyer, it's unlikely that Atkinson will see a penny from the transaction. A bankruptcy judge has frozen his assets; attorneys general from several states accuse him and his brother, Cory, of illegally plundering the company; and the rolls of US Fidelis creditors are estimated at about 1,500.
In addition to those creditors, contractors who did work on the house have filed six mechanics liens on the property totalling $777,529.
Noero, of Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty, would not comment for this story.
Last year, St. Charles County Assessor Scott Shipman said the mansion would be the county's largest, and by a big margin: The next biggest is 15,000 square feet. In an interview last year, Atkinson said he wanted a big house primarily for the good it could do for the needy. It was designed to be large enough to accommodate charitable fund-raisers he plans to host, he said.
Another Atkinson house in Lake Saint Louis is under contract to be sold for $1.5 million, according to records filed in court Monday as part of the US Fidelis proceedings. For the sale of that house on Woodview Drive to go through, Atkinson must secure the permission of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Charles E. Rendlen III.
On April 7, Rendlen froze the personal assets of Atkinson and his brother, Cory. The brothers are accused of plundering US Fidelis to put corporate assets out of reach of creditors.
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