Forte victims sue Radnor firm

Villanova accountant John N. Irwin was the public face for convicted Broomall money manager Joseph S. Forte, according to a lawsuit filed this week by the official trying to recoup money for victims of Forte's Ponzi scheme.

It has long been known that Irwin helped Forte set up Joseph Forte L.P. in 1995 and prepared statements for investors, but Monday's suit in federal court in Philadelphia alleged that the involvement of Irwin and his Radnor financial consulting firm, Jacklin Associates Inc., in Forte's fraudulent fund was more extensive.

The suit alleged, among other things, that Jacklin paid Forte a monthly salary of $4,000 from 1995 through September 1998, that Irwin solicited investments for the partnership from 1995 through 2008, and that from 2000 through 2008 Jacklin employed three apprentices who were purportedly learning Forte's trading methods.

"We haven't had a chance to review the complaint, but our position is unchanged. Mr. Irwin is a victim of Mr. Forte's Ponzi scheme. He is only a victim, and we intend to prove that," said an attorney for Irwin, Ellen C. Brotman, of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads L.L.P.

The suit against Irwin was among several recent moves by Marion A. Hecht, the court-appointed receiver responsible for gathering assets for Forte's victims. Hecht filed several lawsuits Monday to prevent the expiration of the statute of limitations from shielding beneficiaries of Forte's fraud from Hecht's efforts.

Forte raised at least $78 million from investors for his fund, which was supposed to invest in futures contracts on the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. The collective investor loss is estimated at $34 million. Forty-one investors withdrew more than $40 million before it collapsed in the fall of 2008.

Among the suits was one against a group of nonprofits that received donations from the Thornton D. and Elizabeth S. Hooper Foundation, which was among the biggest investors in Forte's fund. The foundation made $13 million in donations while its assets were invested in Forte's fund, according to the lawsuit.

Eleven nonprofits were named in the lawsuit because they did not sign tolling agreements, which waive the statute of limitations. More than 700 donations, many under $5,000, could be retrieved, according to a court document.

Among the nonprofits was Philabundance, which provides food for the needy. The group got a call from the receiver's office about an urgent need for a signature, but never received the document, said Martha Buccino, the group's chief development officer.

The Hooper family was "shocked and deeply distressed" by the receiver's actions, according to an e-mailed statement by Ralph W. Hooper, president of the foundation. The receiver's decision to sue charities "is only making a dire situation worse and is not supported by the foundation or the Hooper family."

Hecht also sued Malvern Preparatory School, which received donations of more than $900,000 from Forte and more than $200,000 from the Hooper Foundation. School president Jim Stewart said Thursday that the lawsuit would be discussed at a board of trustees meeting April 13.

Cardinal O'Hara High School, Msgr. Bonner High School, and St. Anastasia parish in Newtown Square received $1.13 million in donations from Forte, but the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was not sued because it signed a tolling agreement with the receiver, a spokesman said.

In all, the receiver has signed more than 100 tolling agreements, which allow her to pursue claims against investors and others after the expiration of the statute of limitations, her attorney, Lawrence T. Hoyle Jr., said.