Dept. of Real Estate Investigating Retirement Fund for Teachers
The state Department of Real Estate confirmed Thursday that it is investigating Teachers Management & Investment Inc. in the wake of a civil lawsuit that alleges the fund has lost at least $100 million of teachers’ retirement money.
“Our concern is that everything be on the up and up at TMI,” said Randy Brendia, regional manager in Los Angeles for the department.
Also Thursday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Newport Beach firm from altering or destroying documents.
The investigation and restraining order follow the suit filed Tuesday that claims TMI, which raised as much as $1 billion from 60,000 investors, is insolvent. Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard W. Luesbrink, besides approving the restraining order, said he will decide by Sept. 7 whether to appoint a receiver.
TMI’s owners, James R. Martin and Maurice Shuman, have said they “absolutely deny” the allegations in the suit.
TMI attorney David Sprowl said the investment fund did not contest the restraining order. “Since TMI had no intention of losing or destroying any documents, we had no problem with that,” he said.
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