Michaels Store Co-Founder Dies While Under Investigation by the SEC

Charles Wyly, a co-founder of Michaels Stores, Inc., died in a car accident in Colorado at the age of seventy-seven. Wyle and his younger brother, Sam, served as chairmen of a Michaels Store in Texas which was acquired in 2006 by Blackstone Group and Capital LLC for around $6 million.

In July 2010, the SEC filed a complaint accusing the Wyly brothers of using a sham trust system and subsidiary companies in the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man. The complaint alleged that the brother hid their fortunes for over thirteen years in these off-shore accounts. The SEC is attempting to force the brothers to hand over the $550 million they made during these alleged schemes. Now that the older Wyly has passed away, his estate is left to deal with the SEC allegations.

See Laurence Arnold, Charles Wyly, Micheals Stores Co-Founder Dies, Bloobmberg, Aug. 8, 2011.

Special thanks to Peter Parlapiano (MBA/M.S. Personal Financial Planning, Lubbock, TX)