Government to finish building mansion tied to Vegas scam

Linda Rawls

Monday, Aug. 14, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The federal government has taken over construction of a spectacular mansion on Lake Boca Raton -- a house commissioned by disgraced Las Vegas businessman Bill Gouldd.

The government intends to sell the 19,000-square-foot house when it's completed to help compensate the victims of Equinox International of Las Vegas, a multilevel marketing company founded by former Boca Raton resident Gouldd. The house could sell for as much as $18 million.

Gouldd, 46, in April settled out of court with the Federal Trade Commission and eight states that sued him in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, where Equinox was headquartered. The suit, which accused Gouldd of running an illegal pyramid scheme, asked the court to shut down his business, whose main products were water filters and health products, and seize his assets.

The settlement, which put Equinox out of business and confiscated Gouldd assets valued at up to $50 million, ended the lawsuit. The settlement also put the government in the unlikely business of building a home and trying to sell it for profit.

"While this is a unique property, it is not a unique situation," said Robb Evans, the court-appointed receiver liquidating Gouldd's assets.

"We typically analyze what we expect to receive by selling the property 'as is' and what we would expect to receive if we do certain work," Evans said. "If the value added is sufficiently greater, and if funds and time are available, we often have undertaken substantial renovations or completion of work in progress."

In the Gouldd case, Evans determined he could get a lot more money for the house on 150 feet of prime lakefront if he finished it before finding a buyer.

Time and money are no problem. "This is not a fire sale," said custom builder Bill Szymanski, owner of Wm. L Construction, whom Gouldd hired to build the home in May 1998.

Szymanski estimates the house will cost $8 million to build. So if it sells for its estimated minimum listing price, the government will get $8 million for its victim compensation fund, minus real estate fees and commissions.

Besides two guest houses and an expansive poolside entertainment area, the house has a private theater with sofa seating and a popcorn stand and expensive Jerusalem marble throughout.

"This house obviously was set up to entertain," Szymanski said. "That was a large part of his business."

Entertaining and showing off his flashy homes and possessions were part of Gouldd's strategy to lure people into believing they, too, could easily make that kind of money through Equinox.

"He would do recruitment videos from his Colorado ranch sitting on his snowmobile or in his Lamborghini, as if to say, 'Look at the success I have,"' said Tracey Brierly, A Nevada deputy attorney general. "That was used to draw people in."