Equinox’s fine art auctioned at discount

Grace Leong

Monday, March 4, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

An art collection once valued at $1 million belonging to multilevel marketing company Equinox International Corp. of Las Vegas, which was shut down in 2000 as an illegal pyramid scheme, was auctioned Friday at the Las Vegas Art Museum for less than $200,000.

Robb Evans, Equinox's court-appointed receiver, ordered Friday's liquidation of the company's art collection as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC finalized a settlement in April 2000 that led to the shutdown of Equinox and the liquidation of its assets to help fund a restitution pool for its distributors, who lost money because they were allegedly recruited through deceptive advertising and false claims of income.

Guy Deiro, owner of Las Vegas auctioneer Robert Deiro & Associates, said more than 200 people attended the auction of some 80 original works of art including three paintings by American pop art icon Peter Max.

Deiro, who had predicted the art work would be auctioned for "hundreds of thousands of dollars," said the auction was a "success."

"What makes this sale different is that this is an absolute auction, which means the art sold for whatever it brings regardless of the original value," Deiro said. "If the public bids, say, only $5,000 for a Peter Max painting that's valued at $85,000, then that's the price."

"Equinox paid full retail prices for the artwork. But the court would rather sell the art through an absolute auction and move on to the bigger items like a $13.5 million home at Boca Raton, Fla., and a 110-foot yacht called Moonraker that's valued at up to $7.9 million," he said.

Deiro said the funds will be added to the restitution pool for distribution to Equinox's victims.

Evans, in a March 1-Aug. 31 report, said he estimates the restitution fund will total between $15 million and $31 million after the sale of Equinox's two remaining assets because of the uncertain economy and its impact on the assets.

Val Miller, deputy to Evans, said the Boca Raton home and the yacht have been exposed to the market for more than a year now, but no qualified buyers have emerged yet.