October 7, 2007
Hsu's biz: Side B
Flip Pidot of Suitably Flip reports that two FBI seizure warrants on Hsu's bank accounts show the existence of a hitherto unknown Hsu business: Side B which may give us even more evidence of his straw donor scheme and assets:
Side B is unique among Hsu's business entities, both in terms of its form of incorporation ("Inc." typically indicating a U.S. corporation vs. "Ltd." generally indicating a U.K. limited company; Dilini is a U.S. LLC) and in that we've never seen the company cited as an employer by a Hsu-connected campaign donor or listed elsewhere in connection with Norman Hsu.There is a "Side B Apparel" in Boulder (which caters to multiple outlets in Denver, the city en route to which Hsu was apprehended in September), but it appears to be a small silk screening boutique, which makes it unlikely to be connected to Hsu (if only because they appear to do actual business...).Side B, Components, and Next Components, are the three names attached to the Bank of America accounts, which will hopefully prove to contain more of the missing funds than did the Metrobank account in Norman Hsu's own name.A checkbook found on Hsu at the time of his arrest in Colorado showed a balance of $6 million. A day earlier, he forfeited a $2 million bond by failing to appear for his court appearance in San Mateo, California. We know of roughly $2.5 million that made its way into the campaign coffers of Hsu's favored political candidates and once we're able to see the 3rd quarter campaign disclosures later this month, that number could more than double. That puts us in the neighborhood of $13 million accounted for. If we assume Hsu's lifestyle was lavish enough to burn through a million dollars a year (one of his two Manhattan apartments goes for $8,000/month), dating back to his earliest deals with the New York investment group in 2001, the total might push as high as $19 million.Between the New York and Orange County groups, investors say they entrusted a total of $63 million with Hsu, leaving $44 million unaccounted for, estimating conservatively. Hsu's corporate accounts may yield a more meaningful chunk of the missing funds, but given that these assets weren't frozen until September 18th (13 days after Hsu gathered his things and skipped bail), they may well have been cleaned out.