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{{short description|American real estate and timber baron}}
{{multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=September 2012}}
{{tone|date=September 2012}}
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{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
| name = Tim Blixseth | name = Tim Blixseth
| image = | image =
| caption = Tim Blixseth departs Montana Bankruptcy Court, 2009 | caption = Tim Blixseth departs Montana Bankruptcy Court, 2009
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|11|27}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|04|27}}
| birth_place = ], U.S. | birth_place = ], U.S.
| occupation = Real estate, timber, songwriter
| nationality = American
| spouse = {{plainlist|
| occupation = Real estate, timber, songwriter
* Edra Denise Crocker Blixseth (1983 - 2008)
| spouse = Jessica Blixseth <ref>, BillingsGazette.com. Retrieved October 2011.</ref>
* Jessica Ferguson Kircher
| children = 4
}}
| residence = ], U.S.
| children = Beau Blixseth (b. 1979)<br> Morgan Blixseth-Luccio(b. 1981)
| net_worth = {{loss}}]1.3 ] (2007)<ref>, Forbes.com. Retrieved March 2011.</ref> }}
}}


'''Timothy Lee "Tim" Blixseth''' (born 1950) is an American ], ], songwriter and ] who is best known for co-founding the ] in ]. Raised in ], Blixseth amassed a fortune in real estate and timber holdings. In 2006, Blixseth was featured in the ] List of wealthiest Americans with a claimed net worth of $1.3 billion. However, a 2011 news report estimated his current net worth closer to $200 million<ref>, Seattle Times, May 19, 2011.</ref> and his wealth and asset claims have been the subject of controversy, in and out of court.<ref>, New West, February 25, 2010.</ref> Blixseth's rise and fall from billionaire status has been the focus of numerous reports and publications on the crash of the ultra wealthy following the 2009 economic downturn.<ref>, The Spectator, November 20, 2011.</ref> In recent years, Blixseth has been involved in litigation following the bankruptcy of the ] in 2008.<ref>, Fox News, November 12, 2008.</ref> '''Timothy Lee Blixseth''' (born 1950) is an American ], ], songwriter and ].<ref>, Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 23, 2010.</ref> He was a co-founder of the ] in ]. In 2006, Blixseth was featured in the ] List of wealthiest Americans with a net worth of $1.3 billion. However, based on court records from his 2009 divorce, news reports estimated his 2011 net worth to have dropped to $200 million.<ref>, ''Seattle Times'', May 18, 2011.</ref> By 2012, he faced a forced bankruptcy for failing to pay the state of Montana $57 million in income taxes<ref>, by The Associated Press, The Oregonian, December 18, 2012.</ref> and in 2014 he told the courts he was "too poor" to pay pending judgments and contempt findings for his fraud role<ref>, by Jeff Sistrunk, Law360, October 9, 2014.</ref> in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy.<ref>, by Jay Adkisson, Forbes Magazine, December 30, 2012.</ref><ref>, by Jeff Manning, The Oregonian, December 18, 2014.</ref>


Blixseth's wealth and assets have been the subject of controversy.<ref>, ''New West'', February 25, 2010.</ref> In 2008, the bankruptcy of the Yellowstone Club led to extensive litigation with Blixseth and his creditors.<ref>, ''Fox News'', November 12, 2008.</ref> The property emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership in 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/settlement-reached-in-decade-long-legal-saga-over-yellowstone-club/article_6f6a7d81-7062-5632-99e7-92609618cc15.html|title=Settlement reached in decade-long legal saga over Yellowstone Club bankruptcy|agency=Associated Press|work=Helena Independent Record|access-date=2018-06-01|language=en}}</ref>
==Early years==


==Early life and education==
Timothy Blixseth was the youngest of five children born to Norwegian immigrants who grew up in ]. His father was a disabled minister and the family was dependent on welfare. Blixseth claimed he was so poor, that he "ate spam" five days a week or shot his own food using his father's gun. As a child, Blixseth recounted his family being the victim of a financial scam, but lacking the financial resources to afford legal aid to go after the con artists. His family raised him in a self-described "local cult" called the Jesus Name of Oneness Church—a ] sect.<ref>, Tim Blixseth Press Release - PRNEWS Wire, June 2, 2011.</ref>
According to Blixseth, he "grew up on welfare in ]".<ref>, Tim Blixseth Press Release - PRNEWS Wire, June 2, 2011</ref> He attended Roseburg High School (Class of 1968) and after graduating, he worked in a sawmill.<ref name="Forbes">Cohan, William , ''Forbes Magazine'', February 6, 2008.</ref> His parents were members of "a local cult" called Jesus Name of Oneness.<ref name="Forbes"/>

As a youth, Blixseth worked in the local grocery store and lumber mills. He reportedly got his taste for deal making when he bought three donkeys for $75, re-branded them as pack mules and sold them for $225 the same day. He later took that experience into timber land, buying {{convert|360|acre|km2}} valued at $90,000 for $1,000 down with the balance payable in 30 days. He then immediately flipped the land to the a local timber kingpin for $140,000 netting a $50,000 profit (a 4,900 percent gain).<ref>, Forbes Magazine, February 6, 2008.</ref> This began Blixseth's career as a developer. After swapping land, Blixseth got into the lumber business directly, owning sawmills and engaging in federal timber contracts. Blixseth engaged in numerous land swap deals and federal timber contracts.<ref name="Here's how Blixseth did it">, Bozeman Chronicle, April 12, 2008.</ref>

Prior to formalizing his timber and real estate career, Blixseth tried his hand in the music and songwriting business. Blixseth reportedly attended only one hour of community college after high school after which he traveled to and from Los Angeles attempting to launch a music career in Hollywood. During this time Blixseth married and divorced his first wife, failed to make his mark in Hollywood, and eventually returned to Oregon to focus his sights on real estate and timber.<ref>, Woopidoo.com, undated, accessed December 8, 2011.</ref>

In 1981 he met and married his second wife Edra Denise Crocker, a partner in a local Roseburg-based hotel and restaurant business called Choo-Choo Willy's. Blixseth engaged in numerous land swap deals and federal timber contracts, building on his original successful land flipping experience. However, during this time several of Blixseth's companies went bust and Blixseth defaulted on at least ten timber contracts on the ] in Oregon, leaving almost $7 million owed to the ].<ref name="Here's how Blixseth did it"/>

By 1986, Blixseth and wife Edra were forced to declare personal bankruptcy. At the time they claimed $15.4 million in debts and only $4,400 of assets. Creditors later accused them of hiding assets including such luxury items as a Canadian baby lynx fur coat valued at $17,000; a natural-white, full-length mink coat valued at $8,995; a 14-karat gold ring with a {{convert|1.198|carat|g|adj=on}} diamond valued at $10,800; and a second gold ring with a {{convert|1.27|carat|g|adj=on}} diamond valued at $13,700.<ref>, The Independent, January 27, 2007.</ref>


==Career== ==Career==
Blixseth began his business career using land swap deals and federal timber contracts.<ref name="Here's how Blixseth did it">, ''Bozeman Chronicle'', April 12, 2008</ref>

Blixseth’s is a rags to riches and back again story involving government land schemes, Hollywood and courtroom dramas, high finance and political intrigue. Following his 1986 bankruptcy Blixseth returned to timber and land deals, expanding his dealings from Oregon to Montana and earning him a listing in 2006 on the Forbes list of wealthiest American billionaires.

He is the founder and chairman of the Blixseth Group, through which he managed his business and investment efforts. Blixseth, with his second wife Edra, created numerous business entities associated with his timber, music production, real estate and software ventures. These include Blxware, Yellowstone Mountain Club, Yellowstone World Club, Crown Pacific LTD, Big Sky Lumber, BGI, Friday Records, Western Pacific Lumber, Blixseth Family Investments (BFI), TWJ Holdings LLC,and Desert Ranch Management.


===Timber=== ===Timber===
Following bankruptcies in 1981<ref>, ''Property & Wealth Magazine'', December 2011</ref> and 1986, Blixseth began to rebuild his timber business endeavors. In 1988, he co-founded Crown Pacific, LTD with Peter Stott and within a year he had $44 million in sales.<ref>, ''Oregonian'', March 18, 2001</ref>


During this time,{{when|date=January 2013}} Blixseth was involved{{clarify|date=January 2013}} with three Oregon companies that defaulted on 22 national timber sale contracts owed the ] more than $8 million. Two of Blixseth's timber companies, Capital Veneer and Capital Log Sales, filed for bankruptcy{{when|date=January 2013}} with debts totaling more than $16 million. A third company, Little River Box Co., was dissolved following two federal contract defaults.<ref>, ''The Bulletin'' (Bend, DeChutes County, Oregon), December 2, 1988.</ref> By 1992 Blixseth had sold his interests in Crown Pacific and launched Big Sky Lumber in Montana.
Following bankruptcies in 1981<ref>, Property & Wealth Magazine, December 2011.</ref> and again in 1986, Tim Blixseth continued to pursue and rebuild his timber related businesses. In 1988 he co-founded Crown Pacific, LTD with Peter Stott. Stott and Blixseth built the business into a leading timberland owner in ] overnight. Within one year, the company claimed $44 million in sales.<ref>, Oregonian, March 18, 2001.</ref> However, along side of financial success for Blixseth and his wife, defaults and controversies continued to follow them.


In 1995 Blixseth's Big Sky Lumber sold another {{convert|8100|acre|km2}} to the U.S. Forest Service for $16.4 million and then swapped the remaining {{convert|101000|acre|km2}} in checkerboard layout for {{convert|47000|acre|km2}} contiguous and an additional $25 million. Following this final sale and swap, Blixseth dissolved the Big Sky Lumber partnership and divided up the proceeds, keeping {{convert|15000|acre|km2}} and tens of millions in cash for himself. The cash and new acres became the foundation for Blixseth's Yellowstone Club project.<ref name="Here's How Blixseth Did It">{{Cite web|accessdate=April 12, 2011|url= http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_9996b63d-d08b-5451-9a62-c99505f51b9c.html |title=Here's how Blixseth did it|date= 12 April 2008 |publisher=] }}</ref> Blixseth with Pittsburgh financier James J. Dolan also started the Spanish Peaks development, a high-end but somewhat less exclusive resort on neighboring property to the Yellowstone Club with land from the swap deal.<ref>, ''Bozeman Chronicle'', April 15, 2008.</ref> Spanish Peaks announced it was closing and filing for bankruptcy in 2011.<ref>, ''Bozeman Chronicle'', October 10, 2011.</ref> Between sales to timber interests, developers and the U.S. government, Blixseth's team grossed $56.9 million and {{convert|47000|acre|km2}} of prime development real estate valued at over $100 million in less than three years from the date of their initial $27.5 million investment, of which Blixseth reportedly put less than $3 million.
In August 1989, the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service recommended the "suspension and debarment of Timothy L. Blixseth, Edra D. Blixseth, Crown Pacific Ltd... and any other businesses with which the Blixseths may be associated" for his contract defaults and business practices.<ref name="landgrant.org">, Western Land Exchange Project, January 2000.</ref> During this time Blixseth was involved with three Oregon companies which suffered significant financial losses and defaulted on 22 national timber sale contracts owing the U.S. Forest Service more than $8 million. Two of Blixseth's timber companies, Capital Veneer and Capital Log Sales, filed for bankruptcy with debts totaling more than $16 million. A third company, Little River Box Co., was dissolved following two federal contract defaults.<ref>, The Bulletin (Bend, DeChutes County, Oregon), December 2, 1988.</ref> By 1992 Blixseth had sold his interests in Crown Pacific and had moved his focus from Oregon to Montana where he launched Big Sky Lumber.

Big Sky Lumber was a joint venture partnership among Tim Blixseth, Mel and Norm McDougal, and Charles Holliman. Using the Big Sky Lumber partnership Blixseth disrupted negotiations between ], the ] and ] who were attempting to place some {{convert|140000|to|165000|acre|km2}} of timber land in the ] into a protected conservation trust. In early 1992 Tim Blixseth and his Big Sky Lumber partners paid US$27.5&nbsp;million to the Plum Creek Timber Company to acquire the {{convert|165000|acre|km2}} and the Belgrade sawmill inside the Gallatin National Forest. The Big Sky Lumber venture brought in additional partners and quickly sold off {{convert|25000|acre|km2}} for $6.5 million to developers to create the ] ski and golf resort. Here again, Blixseth was a beneficiary of the Cave Mountain land exchange between the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and Moonlight Basin enabling the development next to the Cave Mountain Research Natural Area.<ref name="landgrant.org"/> In 2009 Moonlight Basin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Simultaneous to the Moonlight Basin deal, Blixseth sold the Belgrade sawmill and a multi-year timber contract to the Louisiana Pacific timber company for $9 million.

In 1995 Blixseth's Big Sky Lumber sold another {{convert|8100|acre|km2}} to the U.S. Forest Service for $16.4 million and then swapped the remaining {{convert|101000|acre|km2}} in checkerboard layout for {{convert|47000|acre|km2}} contiguous and an additional $25 million. Following this final sale and swap, Blixseth dissolved the Big Sky Lumber partnership and divided up the proceeds keeping {{convert|15000|acre|km2}} and tens of millions in cash for himself. The cash and new acres became the foundation for Blixseth's Yellowstone Club project.<ref>name="Here’s How Blixseth Did It">{{Cite web|accessdate=April 12, 2011|url= http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_9996b63d-d08b-5451-9a62-c99505f51b9c.html /|title=Here’s how Blixseth did ti|publisher=] }}</ref> Blixseth with Pittsburgh financier ], also started the Spanish Peaks development, a high-end but somewhat less exclusive resort on neighboring property to the Yellowstone Club with land from the swap deal.<ref>, Bozeman Chronicle, April 15, 2008.</ref> Spanish Peaks announced it was closing and filing for bankruptcy in 2011.<ref>, Bozeman Chronicle, October 10, 2011.</ref> Between sales to timber interests, developers and the U.S. government, Blixseth's team grossed $56.9 million and {{convert|47000|acre|km2}} of prime development real estate valued at over $100 million in less than three years from the date of their initial $27.5 million dollar investment of which Blixseth reportedly put less than $3 million.

During these years Blixseth leveraged political contacts developed via hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions to facilitate the land exchanges with the state and federal governments needed to put together his real estate development projects. Ted Turner was so appalled by Blixseth's dealings with the government and politicians, and irked by Blixseth's disruption of his attempts to protect the Gallatin lands from development, that he called him out in a 1996 speech as a "serial defaulter" noting, "I made my money by creating things, not by sticking taxpayers." <ref>, Fortune Magazine, February 6, 2008.]</ref>

Even following his trail of Forest Service defaults, bankruptcies and related controversies, Blixseth has continued his timber and real estate development dealings with the federal government. Via investments in Oregon-based Western Pacific Timber Blixseth is involved in an ongoing (2011) controversial attempt to flip some 40,000 of former timber land for development with the U.S. Forest service as part of the Upper ] Land Exchange in Idaho.<ref>, Missoula Independent, April 21, 2011.</ref>


===Yellowstone Club, Greg LeMond and Credit Suisse controversy=== ===Yellowstone Club, Greg LeMond and Credit Suisse controversy===


Flush with cash and land from his 1995 deal with the U.S. Forest Service, Blixseth began development of {{convert|15000|acre|km2}} of pristine Montana real estate outside of Big Sky. Blixseth later re-characterized this beginning to a Montana Bankruptcy court as “I started the club with a pick-up truck and a hammer.”<ref>, New West, April 29, 2009.</ref> Early on Blixseth began courting politicians and celebrities ranging from ] to ] to help attract investors and members. At the same time Blixseth was securing financing from a range of investors, many of whom were unaware of the others, and who would later come forward following the Club's bankruptcy in 2009. With cash and land from his 1995 deal with the U.S. Forest Service, Blixseth began development of {{convert|15000|acre|km2}} of pristine Montana real estate outside of Big Sky. Blixseth said to a Montana Bankruptcy court as "I started the club with a pick-up truck and a hammer."<ref>, New West, April 29, 2009.</ref>


The early days of the Yellowstone Club were a boon to Tim and Edra Blixseth. In 2005 alone, they took in over $200 million from the sales of building lots and memberships to wealthy business leaders, media icons and celebrities. Early Club members and investors included ], ], ] and ].<ref>, Forbes, September 1, 2005.</ref> However, leading to the Club's eventual financial failure was Blixseth's dealings with cyclist ]. In 2002 LeMond, with four other family members and associates, became investors with Blixseth in the Yellowstone Club.<ref> ''Denver Westword News,'' 12 January 1994</ref> Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a ] loan to the resort of $375&nbsp;million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209&nbsp;million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. In 2005, they took in over $200 million from the sales of building lots and memberships to wealthy business leaders, media icons and celebrities. Early Club members and investors included ], ], ] and ].<ref>, ''Forbes'', September 1, 2005.</ref> Leading to the Club's eventual financial failure was Blixseth's dealings with cyclist ]. In 2002 LeMond, with four other family members and associates, invested in the Yellowstone Club.<ref> ''Denver Westword News'', 12 January 1994</ref> Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a ] loan to the resort of $375&nbsp;million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209&nbsp;million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. Blixseth said he used the money to expand the Yellowstone Club into the Yellowstone World Club. In 2006 Blixseth told the New York Times that he "paid cash, with no help from investors, for each of the properties that make up the Yellowstone World Club."<ref>, by Susan Dominus, New York Times Magazine, March 5, 2006.</ref>


The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16&nbsp;billion ] valuation of the resort (which was also the basis for Blixseth's billionaire net worth status by Forbes) and for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6&nbsp;million for their one percent shares.<ref> ''Bloomberg News,'' 27 October 2006</ref> LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39&nbsp;million in 2007;<ref> "USA Today," 15 August 2008</ref> however, he and his partners remain creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20&nbsp;million payment followed by their divorce and bankruptcy of the Club in 2009.<ref> ''New West,'' 21 November 2008</ref> The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16&nbsp;billion ] valuation of the resort and for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6&nbsp;million for their one percent shares.<ref> ''Bloomberg News'', 27 October 2006</ref> LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39&nbsp;million in 2007.<ref> "USA Today", 15 August 2008</ref><ref> ''New West'', 21 November 2008</ref>


Blixseth appealed several aspects of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy. The judge found Blixseth's claims unconvincing, noting, "Given the evidence, Blixseth's arguments are without support"<ref>, ''New West'', August 18, 2010</ref> and on March 6, 2013 U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon denied Blixseth's final appeal noting his lack of standing to revisit his rejected claims of "bad faith" in the bankruptcy reorganization."<ref>, Case 2:11-cv-00071-SEH, Document 26, Filed 03/06/13 United States District Court Montana.</ref> In December 2013 Judge Haddon ruled Blixseth in contempt for committing fraud and deception against the Court after it was revealed that in 2011 he had illegally sold-off assets frozen by an earlier court order to cover judgments against him in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy proceedings.<ref>, Associated Press, December 31.2013.</ref>
Around the same time, Denise Ann Touhy, the Yellowstone Club's VP of finance who had extensive knowledge of Blixseth's financial situation, died at her Big Sky home from an explosion caused by a propane gas leak. Although no evidence of foul play was found in Touhy's death, local press reports claimed "rumors started circulating among club members that her death was related to the LeMond lawsuit." The LeMond suit, Touhy's tragic death and exposure of the Credit Suisse loan opened Blixseth up to scrutiny by other investors and Club members driving discussions to seek an outside buyer for the Club.<ref>, Fortune, February 6, 2008.</ref> Before a deal could be put together, however, the Club's real financial situation began to unfold. As part of his divorce, Blixseth transferred the Club and its debts to wife Edra pushing the Club into bankruptcy protection from which it was subsequently sold to outside investors led by Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital Partners.

During the bankruptcy trial, elements of which are still facing appeals by Blixseth, Montana federal bankruptcy judge Ralph Kirscher laid the blame for the Club's financial demise with Blixseth and the Credit Suisse bankers whose actions were characterized as such "naked greed" as to "shock the conscience of the court." Kirscher ruled that Edra and the Club's financial problems which led to its bankruptcy "were caused largely by fraud and deceit on the part of Tim Blixseth." Lawyers for Blixseth's creditors also claimed, “The corporate greed of Credit Suisse and Mr. Blixseth’s sense of entitlement” were a toxic combination which led to the Club's demise. The Credit Suisse loan agreement allowed Blixseth to take up to $209 million cash out for himself. While technically that sum was a loan from the club to BGI, Blixseth’s wholly owned holding company, Blixseth in turn borrowed $190 million of that personally from BGI. The Club and its creditors committee allege these were in effect sham loans that Blixseth never intended to repay—and cited as evidence the fact that the promissory notes for those loans were not even secured by any assets. Montana state tax officials agreed and are seeking some $57 million in unpaid taxes from Blixseth associated with the Credit Suisse payout.

In turn, Blixseth is suing Credit Suisse for making the loan to him using the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy case findings claiming the loan was part of a broader Credit Suisse scheme to generate high fees and defaults from which Blixseth claims he is a victim.<ref>, Blixseth Group press release, September 15, 2010.</ref> Blixseth's son Beau is also separately suing Credit Suisse claiming they deliberately orchestrated the failures of at least other four major resort projects in which the Blixseths were also investors so that it could acquire them on the cheap. Represented by his father's attorney Mike Flynn, Beau Blixseth is seeking $24 billion in damages from Credit Suisse claiming fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary responsibility.<ref>, New West, January 4, 2010.</ref> Tim Blixseth has also appealed aspects of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy; however, the judge so far has found Blixseth's claims unconvincing, noting, "Given the evidence, Blixseth’s arguments are without support."<ref>, New West, August 18, 2010.</ref>

===Lochsa Land Exchange===

In 2005 Tim Blixseth, using TWJ Holdings LLC, engaged in a land transfer deal with Plum Creek Timber in the Upper Lochsa section of the ] in ]. Then in 2006, Blixseth initiated a timber land swap scheme with the U.S. Forest Service using that land to consolidate his holdings similar to the land swap and consolidation deal from which he created the Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks and Moonlight Basin developments in ].<ref>, Stop the Swap, January 2012.</ref> In 2008, Blixseth and TWJ Holdings transferred the property rights to Western Pacific Timber, a company for which Blixseth was also cited as president in 2008 and manager in 2009, and proposed to sell and consolidate the timber parcels in the ] section of the Clearwater National Forest.<ref>, Stop the Swap, undated post accessed december 2011.</ref> The proposal is opposed by former forest service employees who have characterized the privatization of protected forest land as a violation of the public trust. Blixseth has asserted he plans to run the proposed newly consolidated and privatized federal land as a tree farm for logging.<ref>, Spokesman Review, March 23, 2009.</ref> Critics content the purpose of this exchange, however, remains unclear noting the timber lands have already been heavily harvested.<ref>, Moscow Pullman Daily News, October 19, 2011</ref>


===Software=== ===Software===


In 2006 the Blixseth's partnered with a computer software designer ], former ] executive Michael Sandoval<ref>, by Brier Dudley, Seattle Times, June 26, 2008.</ref> and former Congressman ] to sell software they claimed could recognize patterns and objects hidden in video streams. They invested in several companies named Blxware, xPatterns, and OpSpring, and promoted their technology to the U.S. government as being able to identify hidden messages from ] terrorists in ] broadcasts and find terrorists in pictures taken by CIA predator drones.<ref>, by Jonathan Weber, New West, June 11, 2009.</ref>
Throughout the Yellowstone Club evolving debacle, the Blixseths were developing other business interests leveraging their new found friends in the political and business elite. In 2006 the Blixseths invested $10 million in a Seattle software company which once claimed it could compress as many as 50 movies onto one DVD. A claim Bill Gates reportedly told the Blixseths sounded "impossible but worth billions" if it worked. It did not, but led the Blixseths to form Blxware to pursue other related technology opportunities. Formally Blxware was a partnership between Edra Blixseth and a software developer named Dennis Montgomery created in 2006. Blxware’s key product was promoted as software designed to recognize patterns and objects in video streams, and the company had obtained government contracts to develop it for national security applications. To develop the technology Blxware made further investments in a company founded by Warren Trepp called eTreppid. Trepp, once a top trader for Michael Milken, later alleged that the Blixseths stole computer code that purportedly could sift through broadcasts from Qatar-based news network Al- Jazeera and find embedded messages from terrorists.


The Blixseths reportedly had tried to use connections with the Republican party to sell the software to the government for $100 million. Hoping to win more government money, Ms. Blixseth turned to influential friends, like Yellowstone Club member ], the former New York congressman and Republican vice-presidential nominee, and ], then a Republican senator from Montana. Kemp and Burns became minority stakeholders in the Blxware venture. According to the New York Times, Mr. Kemp used his friendship with Vice President Dick Cheney to set up a meeting in 2006 at which Mr. Kemp, Mr. Montgomery and Ms. Blixseth met with a top Vice President Cheney adviser, Samantha Ravich, to talk about expanding the government’s use of the Blxware software.<ref>, New York Times, February 19, 2011.</ref> According to the ''New York Times'', Mr. Kemp used his friendship with Vice President ] to set up a meeting in 2006 at which Mr. Kemp, Montgomery and Ms. Blixseth met with a top Cheney adviser, ], to talk about expanding the government's use of the Blxware software. Blixseth reportedly sought to sell the software to the government for $100 million; however, investigations later revealed it to be a "hoax" with CIA officials reporting they knew the technology to be fake as early as 2003.<ref>, by Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, New York Times, February 19, 2011.</ref>


However, like the video compression software, the video recognition software did not perform to claims. Co-workers disclosed to investigators that test results shared with the government had been doctored. The software was reportedly responsible for a false terror alert which grounded international flights and caused Department of Homeland Security Secretary ] to raise the government's security level.<ref>, Wired Magazine, December 28, 2009.</ref> And because the software was being tested for the military, the federal government is investigating. In February 2006, the FBI opened an economic espionage and theft of intellectual property investigation. The U.S. Air Force office of Special Investigations is also investigating.<ref>, Las Vegas Review Journal, June 7, 2009.</ref> The software was reportedly responsible for false terror alerts which grounded international flights and caused Department of Homeland Security Secretary ] to raise the government's security level.<ref>, ''Wired Magazine'', December 28, 2009.</ref> In February 2006, the FBI opened an economic espionage and theft of intellectual property investigation. The U.S. Air Force office of Special Investigations also investigated.<ref>, ''Las Vegas Review Journal'', June 7, 2009</ref> Bloomberg news reported that Blixseth family attorney Michael Flynn represented Edra Blixseth, Montgomery and Blxware against various charges until he claimed he learned the software "was a sham,"<ref>, by Anthony Effinger, Bloomberg, August 29, 2008.</ref> characterized Montgomery as a "con man" and quit.<ref>, Boston Globe, February 20, 2011.</ref>


===Songwriting=== ===Songwriting===
"Heart of America" is a ] written by Blixseth and his wife, Edra Blixseth.<ref name="NYT">, by Susan Dominus, ''New York Times Magazine'', March 5, 2006.</ref> The song became the anthem for the ] TV show's "Make a Difference" campaign to benefit the victims of 2005's ].<ref>Ward, Leah (Oct 23, 2005) Considerable land swap in the works, Yakima Herald-Republic</ref> The song was recorded by ], ], and ].<ref>{{YouTube|jJgPK3sKlnY|Heart of America}}, Accessed October 2011.</ref> In June 2006, '']'' magazine reported the song had raised $41 million with projected revenues of $100 million.<ref name="Ebony">Kinnon, Joy Bennett (June 1, 2006) Eric Benet's voyage for India: singer-songwriter is balancing stardom and fatherhood., ''Ebony'', ("It is estimated that the project will raise $100 million to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. To date, $41 million has been raised")</ref> In August 2006, '']'' reported the song had generated $127 million in revenues for hurricane-relief charities.<ref>Downs, Maggie (Aug 6, 2006) , ''The Desert Sun'', August 30, 2006.</ref>

Tim Blixseth kept his musical dream alive by writing and recording a song in 2001, "Pray for Peace," to raise money for victims of the 9/11 attacks. He founded and heads Friday Records. Tim Blixseth is listed as executive producer for Love & life ] with ]. ] is a charity single written by Tim Blixseth. The song was performed by ], ], and Eric Benét to benefit the victims of ] as an anthem that Blixseth claimed raised $127 million for hurricane-relief charities.<ref>, The Desert Sun, August 30, 2006.</ref> . Blixseth is also the listed producer for '']''.

==Assets==
{{See also|Yellowstone Club}}

The Blixseth assets at one time included Porcupine Creek, a {{convert|249|acre|km2|adj=on}} personal residence and private golf course, acquired by Oracle chairman and billionaire ] following Blixseth’s divorce and resulting bankruptcy.
Claimed to be part of their plans to expand the Yellowstone Club concept into a world-wide venture, Blixseth and wife Edra purchased ] a 15 bedroom, {{convert|1000|acre|km2|adj=on}} French castle valued at $60 million and {{convert|265|acre|km2}} at the famed St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland valued at $12 million.<ref>, Golf Digest, February 2, 2009.</ref> The Blixseths also purchased at least two mega-yachts worth $25 million: Tooth Fairy – 147’ Sterling motor yacht <ref>, Charter World, 2010.</ref> and Piano Bar – a 157’ Picchiotti motor yacht <ref>, Charter World, 2010.</ref> and a $36 million ] private jet promoted to be part of the Yellowstone Club World venture. Blixseth's other high-price assets included a $400,000 ], a $300,000 ], a $200,000 ] and a $175,000 ]. The castle, jet and yachts, like Porcupine Creek, are being sold off as part of Blixseth’s divorce and related bankruptcy filings.

Tim Blixseth’s other properties include his ] home valued at $6 million, a private {{convert|5|acre|m2|adj=on}} island in the Turks & Caicos with a {{convert|30000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} home called Emerald Cay listed for sale in 2011 at $75 million,<ref>, Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2008.</ref> a {{convert|2400|acre|km2|adj=on}} private Mexican beach and golf resort called El Tamarindo with an estimated worth of $40 million currently held in bond pending resolution of creditor suits in Montana Bankruptcy Court, and Casa Captiva, a {{convert|10000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} home in Los Cabos, Mexico valued at $12.85 million.<ref>, Los Cabos properties offered by Snell Real Estate, 2010.</ref>

Blixseth also once claimed to own the world’s most expensive home, called Pinnacle, which promotional materials represented as a {{convert|32000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} home atop Pioneer Mountain within the confines of his exclusive ]. Real estate listings provided interior and exterior pictures and descriptions of Pinnacle, listed at $155 million in 2007, replete with retractable helipad (helicopter included) and built in private gondola.<ref>, Ultimate Homes, 2007.</ref> Pinnacle was never built and Blixseth sold the land it was supposed to be built on.<ref>, The Most Expensive Journal, 2007.</ref>

==Divorce==

Tim Blixseth's second divorce to wife Edra Denise Crocker was first touted in 2009 as a case study in amicable separations where the two hashed out their agreement over wine at a Hollywood hotel without attorneys.<ref>, Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2007.</ref> However, wife Edra and creditors later claimed Blixseth duped her into taking on debt encumbered assets while keeping cash and siphoning off liquid assets for himself. The debt burden which accompanied Ms. Crocker's portion of the divorce settlement subsequently forced her and the Yellowstone Club business into bankruptcy.<ref>, Forbes, August 16, 2008.</ref>

While initially both were quoted amicably about each other and the divorce, the tide quickly changed as the details Ms. Blixseth's newly acquired financial debts came to light. Commenting on ex-husband Tim, Ms. Blixseth told the New York Times in 2009, "I would rather feel the cold steel of a revolver in the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger than to ever think about living a day with that man again." <ref>, New York Times, June 14, 2009.</ref> And, in text messages entered as evidence by the trustee for Edra Blixseth's estate, Tim Blixseth told her that she was "the center of evil" and declared "you and your gang are going to jail."

The trustee for ]'s estate have filed a lawsuit against Tim Blixseth seeking to set aside their divorce settlement on the grounds of fraud, claiming she was swindled during the divorce, with her ex-husband taking the better half of their shared fortune and leaving her and the Club with massive debt from the Credit Suisse loan. A California Superior Court judge claimed that the Blixseths' marital settlement agreement (MSA), ""was, and remains, the most unusual settlement agreement that I never put on the record..." <ref>, Case No. 09-60452-7, Adv No. 10-00088, United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Montana, January 3, 2012.</ref> Edra Blixseth was forced to sell Porkupine Creek Estate and golf course to ] and also sell ] in France, due to the bankruptcy. Blixseth has countered with claims of fraud and allegations that wife Edra is under criminal investigation for her role in defrauding investors and conspiring to steal the Club from him.<ref>, Bozeman Chronicle, October 11, 2010.</ref>


==Litigation, bankruptcies and defaults== ==Litigation, bankruptcies and defaults==


Blixseth's personal and professional life has had a number of lawsuits.<ref>, ''Forbes Magazine'', April 7, 2011.</ref> Following Blixseth's claims that his legal issues are the result of government corruption and conspiracies against him, in 2010 Blixseth filed suit to have Federal Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kischer removed from a case in which the judge issued a $40 million fraud judgement against him. Blixseth alleged the judge was biased against him and had conspired with Montana state government officials and the creditors suing Blixseth. The creditors, however, also disagree with the judge and have appealed his ruling claiming they are owed $286 million by Blixseth.<ref>, ''Billings Gazette'', October 11, 2010</ref> In response to the conspiracy and bias charges, Judge Kirscher ruled against Blixseth's request for recusal noting, "This Court has not and will not succumb to any pressure, political or otherwise." Adding, Blixseth's "ultimate goal" appeared to be to upset prior rulings in the numerous cases against him pending various appeals.<ref>, ''My Desert News'', February 28, 2011</ref>
Blixseth’s personal and professional life has been marked by strings of well-publicized lawsuits. He, wife Edra and children (Matthew Crocker, Beau and Morgan Blixseth) are named parties in over 100 combined cases in a half dozen states involving bankruptcies, divorce, false claims, contract disputes, personal injury, fraud and racketeering. The Blixseth litigation saga now includes several suits against one another with husband, ex-wife and children suing one another.<ref>, Forbes Magazine, April 7, 2011.</ref> According to a Montana bankruptcy judge, the Blixseth "web of corporations, real estate holdings and operating companies, and their subsequent acrimonious divorce" generated a volume of bankruptcy and related litigation hearings unprecedented in the court's history.<ref>, United States Bankruptcy Court, Memorandum of Decision, January 3, 2012.</ref>


In a separate bankruptcy case against Blixseth brought by California, Idaho and Montana tax officials in Nevada seeking tens of millions in allegedly unpaid taxes, Blixseth again claimed he was the victim of conspiracy and government corruption. "The state of Montana, the Montana Department of Revenue and their partners were in cahoots", Blixseth told the Associated Press, claiming Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer conspired with his ex-wife Edra, Yellowstone Club creditors and the tax authorities in three states seeking to bring him down. Blixseth added, "It's completely and absolutely provable, and we will be bringing all the facts out shortly." The state tax authorities, creditors and Governor Schweitzer all denied the conspiracy claims as "baseless allegations" having "no factual basis."<ref>{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Associated Press, May 19, 2011</ref> In a subsequent press release by his attorney Mike Flynn, Blixseth claimed, "All parties who played any role in the forced bankruptcy will now be subject to depositions, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer."<ref>, ''PR Newswire'', May 18, 2011</ref>
Blixseth's legal troubles also extend overseas to a 2009 investigation by the Government of the Turks & Caicos charging him with falsifying sales documents to avoid paying real estate transfer fees. According to the suit, Blixeth and his business partners are liable for an outstanding stamp duty of $1.7 million as well as a penalty of $7 million.<ref>, Turks & Caicos Sun, December 2011.</ref> Blixseth responded to the charges through his attorney Mike Flynn claiming the charges were an "extortionate attempt to extract money from Mr. Blixseth" and the real responsible parties were corrupt government officials.<ref>, Turks & Caicos Free Press, December 13, 2010.</ref> Claiming he was "set up" Blixseth vowed to fight the charges by "exposing all the corruptions" in the Turks & Caicos Islands.<ref>, Caribbean News Now, December 15, 2010.</ref> In June 2011, the Turks & Caicos government found Blixseth and the companies associated with the sale guilty of "a carefully crafted scheme of tax evasion" and ordered a judgement of US$1.25 million, pushing judgement on additional penalties to a later date.<ref>, Turks & Caicos Government Press Release, June 23, 2011.</ref>


In June 2011 Blixseth filed suit against one of his personal attorneys for legal malpractice and personal injury associated with the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/316329/yellowstone-club-owner-s-375m-malpractice-suit-shut-down|title=Yellowstone Club Owner's $375M Malpractice Suit Shut Down - Law360|website=www.law360.com|language=en|access-date=2018-06-01}}</ref> Blixseth sought $375 million in damages claiming his former personal attorney Stephen Brown conspired to "plot against" him in bankruptcy proceedings which found Blixseth had looted the club prior to passing it debt-ridden to his wife Edra Blixseth as part of their divorce. Brown denied the claims.<ref>, ''Bozeman Chronicle'', June 9, 2011</ref> Blixseth's claims were dismissed in March 2012 by U.S. District Judge ] whose order noted, "The Bankruptcy Court addressed the Credit Suisse loan and the marital settlement agreement and concluded that (1) Mr. Blixseth fraudulently misappropriated the proceeds from the Credit Suisse loan and (2) the release in the marital settlement agreement was fraudulent."<ref>, ''Law360'', March 5, 2012.</ref> Blixseth's conspiracy and fraud allegations in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy were vacated in July 2011 by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case who ruled the accusations were previously addressed and found without merit.<ref>, ''Greenfield Reporter'', 27 July 2011</ref> Blixseth then filed suit against Credit Suisse and their appraisal company claiming they deceived and mislead him into accepting some $300 million in loan payments which eventually led to the resort's bankruptcy.<ref>, ''Spokesman Review'', 25 July 2011</ref> A claim to which Credit Suisse responded, "This is simply the latest attempt to shift blame to others and away from his own conduct" in a ''Bloomberg News'' report which added, "Blixseth had, among other things, been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors in 2010 when a federal judge pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on a series of his fraudulent deals."<ref>, ''Bloomberg News'', 25 July 2011</ref> Creditors are seeking an additional $286 million in alleged misappropriated funds which trustees claim Blixseth looted from the Yellowstone Club prior to its bankruptcy. Blixseth continues to fight these claims and seeks to have the various judgments against him vacated.<ref>, Law360, October 7, 2011</ref>
Echoing a theme that his legal issues are the result of government corruption and conspiracies against him, in 2010 Blixseth filed suit to have Federal Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kischer removed from a case in which the judge issued a $40 million fraud judgement against him. Blixseth alleged the judge was biased against him and had conspired with Montana state government officials and the creditors suing Blixseth. The creditors, however, also disagree with the judge and have appealed his ruling claiming they are owed not $40 but $286 million by Blixseth.<ref>, Billings Gazette, October 11, 2010.</ref> In response to the conspiracy and bias charges, Judge Kirscher ruled against Blixseth request for recusal noting, "This Court has not and will not succumb to any pressure, political or otherwise." Adding, Blixseth's "ultimate goal" appeared to be to upset prior rulings in the numerous cases against him pending various appeals.<ref>, My Desert News, February 28, 2011.</ref>


In December 2014<ref>{{cite news|url=http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/ex-billionaire-blixseth-booked-into-missoula-county-jail-judge-demands/article_274aac74-8787-11e4-ac24-5b3966a027ae.html|title=Ex-billionaire Blixseth booked into Missoula County jail; judge demands accounting for millions|first=Matthew|last=Brown|agency=]|date=December 18, 2014}}</ref> and again in April 2015<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ultra-rich-resort-founder-due-court-contempt-hearing-30450581|title=Judge Returns Ultra-Rich Club Founder Tim Blixseth to Jail]|author=Matthew Brown and Amy Beth Hason|agency=]|date=April 20, 2015}}</ref> he was jailed for civil contempt for failing to pay court ordered sanctions and disclose what happened to assets the court had ordered held to pay his creditors. In July 2016, Blixseth was granted bail pending appeal and was released.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2016/07/07/exclusive-blixseth-hopes-end-near-legal-saga/86825334/|title=What will Tim Blixseth do with his freedom?|first=Phil|last=Drake|date=July 7, 2016|work=]}}</ref>
In a separate bankruptcy case against Blixseth brought by California, Idaho and Montana tax officials in Nevada seeking tens of millions in allegedly unpaid taxes, Blixseth again claimed he was the victim of conspiracy and government corruption. "The state of Montana, the Montana Department of Revenue and their partners were in cahoots," Blixseth told the Associated Press claiming Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer conspired with his ex-wife Edra, Yellowstone Club creditors and the tax authorities in three states seeking to bring him down. Blixseth added, "It's completely and absolutely provable, and we will be bringing all the facts out shortly." The state tax authorities, creditors and Governor Schweitzer all denied the conspiracy claims as "baseless allegations" having "no factual basis." <ref>, Associated Press, May 19, 2011.</ref> In a subsequent press release by his attorney Mike Flynn, Blixseth claimed, "All parties who played any role in the forced bankruptcy will now be subject to depositions, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer." <ref>, PR Newswire, May 18, 2011.</ref>


==Personal life==
In June 2011 Blixseth filed suit against one of his personal attorneys for legal malpractice and personal injury associated with the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy.<ref>, Justia Dockets & Filings, June 8, 2011.</ref> Blixseth is seeking $375 million in damages claiming his former personal attorney Stephen Brown conspired to "plot against" him in bankruptcy proceedings which found Blixseth had looted the club prior to passing it debt-ridden to his wife Edra Blixseth as part of their divorce. Brown denied the claims.<ref>, Bozeman Chronicle, June 9, 2011.</ref> Blixseth's claims were dismissed in March 2012 by U.S. District Judge ] whose order noted, "The Bankruptcy Court addressed the Credit Suisse loan and the marital settlement agreement and concluded that (1) Mr. Blixseth fraudulently misappropriated the proceeds from the Credit Suisse loan and (2) the release in the marital settlement agreement was fraudulent."<ref>, Law360, March 5, 2012.</ref> Blixseth's conspiracy and fraud allegations in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy were vacated in July 2011 by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case who ruled the accusations were previously addressed and found without merit.<ref>, Greenfield Reporter, 27 July 2011.</ref> Blixseth then filed suit against Credit Suisse and their appraisal company claiming they deceived and mislead him into accepting some $300 million in loan payments which eventually led to the resorts bankruptcy.<ref>, Spokesman Review, 25 July 2011.</ref> A claim to which Credit Suisse responded, "This is simply the latest attempt to shift blame to others and away from his own conduct" in a Bloomberg News report which added,"Blixseth had, among other things, been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors in 2010 when a federal judge pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on a series of his fraudulent deals."<ref>, Bloomberg News, 25 July 2011.</ref> Creditors are seeking an additional $286 million in alleged misappropriated funds which trustees claim Blixseth looted from the Yellowstone Club prior to its bankruptcy. Blixseth continues to fight these claims and seeks to have the various judgments against him vacated.<ref>, Law360, October 7, 2011.</ref> Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher, however, ruled against Blixseth's appeal seeking to unravel the Yellowstone Club Bankruptcy and claims against him on September 30, 2011. In his memorandum of decision ruling against Blixseth Kirscher wrote, "The Court is tasked with writing yet another chapter in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy saga, which has been ongoing for almost three years."<ref>, United States Bankruptcy Court Montana, September 30, 2011.</ref>


Tim Blixseth has two children, son Beau and daughter Morgan, from his second wife Desiree Langlois. In 1981 he met and married his third wife Edra Denise Crocker, a partner in a local Roseburg-based hotel and restaurant business called Choo-Choo Willy's. Crocker had two children from a previous marriage, Julie Barve and Matthew Crocker. Blixseth married his fourth wife Jessica T. Ferguson Kircher after his 2009 divorce.<ref>, by Daniel Fisher, Forbes Magazine, October 14, 2014.</ref> In 2016 Ferguson served Blixseth with divorce papers while he was serving jail time for contempt of court.<ref>, by Rick Anderson, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2016.</ref>
A list of Bixseth civil and bankruptcy related cases can be found .


Blixseth's third divorce from wife Edra Denise Crocker was first touted in 2009 as a case study in amicable separations where the two hashed out their agreement over wine at a Hollywood hotel without attorneys.<ref>, ''Wall Street Journal'', January 2, 2007.</ref> However, wife Edra and creditors later claimed Blixseth duped her into taking on debt-encumbered assets while keeping cash and siphoning off liquid assets for himself. The debt burden which accompanied Ms. Crocker's portion of the divorce settlement subsequently forced her and the Yellowstone Club business into bankruptcy.<ref>, ''Forbes'', August 16, 2008</ref>
<!-- do we need these boring lists? They should be on a source website
'''Blixseth bankruptcy-related case history'''


While initially both were quoted amicably about each other and the divorce, the tide quickly changed as the details of Ms. Blixseth's newly acquired financial debts came to light. Commenting on ex-husband Tim, Ms. Blixseth told the ''New York Times'' in 2009, "I would rather feel the cold steel of a revolver in the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger than to ever think about living a day with that man again."<ref>, ''New York Times'', June 14, 2009</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Party Name !! Court Name !! Case Number !! Date Filed
|-
| Blixseth, Timothy (db) || Oregon Bankruptcy Court || 6:86-bk-69183 || 11/6/1986
|-
| BLIXSETH, EDRA CROCKER (db) || Oregon Bankruptcy Court || 6:86-bk-69183 || 11/6/1986
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (dft) || Oregon Bankruptcy Court || 6:88-ap-05243 || 12/19/1988
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (intp) || Louisiana Eastern Bankruptcy Court || 2:92-bk-12878 || 7/10/1992
|-
|Blixseth, Sean D. (db) || Oregon Bankruptcy Court || 3:94-bk-33983 || 7/1/1994
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:08-bk-61570|| 11/10/2008
|-
|Blixseth, Morgan (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:08-bk-61570 || 11/10/2008
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:08-bk-61570 || 11/10/2008
|-
|BLIXSETH, BEAU (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:08-bk-61570 || 11/10/2008
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60061 || 1/25/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60061|| 1/25/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00010 || 2/4/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH GROUP, INC (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00010|| 2/4/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, MORGAN (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60139|| 2/13/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60139 || 2/13/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, BEAU (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60139 || 2/13/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (pla) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00014 || 2/25/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (cd) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00014 || 2/25/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (cd) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00014 || 2/25/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D. (wit) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00014 || 2/25/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00018 || 3/3/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00018 || 3/3/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60452 || 3/26/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, MORGAN (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60452|| 3/26/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (db) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-60452 || 3/26/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, BEAU (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court|| 2:09-bk-60452 || 3/26/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L. (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-61079 || 6/5/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00034 || 6/10/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (db) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 1:09-mp-00101 || 6/15/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00044 || 6/29/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00048 || 7/16/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D. (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00055 || 7/31/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00064 || 9/2/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00065 || 9/3/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00069 || 9/16/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (cr) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-61893|| 9/21/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (intp) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-bk-61893 || 9/21/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (ptcrd) || California Central Bankruptcy Court || 6:09-bk-32220 || 9/22/2009
|-
|Blixseth Group Inc (db) || California Central Bankruptcy Court || 6:09-bk-32220|| 9/22/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L. (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00086 || 10/20/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L. (3pd) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00086|| 10/20/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L. (3pd) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00086 || 10/20/2009
|-
|Blixseth Group of Washington LLC (3pd) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00086|| 10/20/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00100 || 11/30/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00101 || 11/30/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (pla) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00102 || 12/1/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00102 || 12/1/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00103 || 12/1/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:09-ap-00105|| 12/7/2009
|-
|BLIXSETH, TIMOTHY L (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:10-ap-00015 || 2/19/2010
|-
|BLIXSETH, BEAU (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:10-ap-00015 || 2/19/2010
|-
|BLIXSETH, MORGAN (pla) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:10-ap-00018|| 2/26/2010
|-
|BLIXSETH, EDRA D (dft) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:10-ap-00018 || 2/26/2010
|-
|BLIXSETH, BEAU (pla) || Montana Bankruptcy Court || 2:10-ap-00018 || 2/26/2010
|}

'''Blixseth Civil Proceedings'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Party Name !! Court Name !! Case Number !! Date Filed
|-
|Blixseth, Tim (pla)|| Massachusetts District Court|| 1:2009-cv-10219|| 2/13/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (pla)|| California Central District Court|| 2:2010-cv-03063|| 4/23/2010
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00085|| 11/19/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00018|| 3/3/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy (dft)|| Oregon District Court|| 3:1986-cv-00804|| 6/24/1986
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (e)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00061|| 7/31/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2010-cv-00006|| 2/23/2010
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00027|| 4/7/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (dft)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (crd)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (cc)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Timothy L. (a)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00047|| 6/25/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Morgan (e)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2010-cv-00009|| 3/16/2010
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Washington District Court|| 2:2009-mc-00009|| 1/22/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Washington District Court|| 2:2009-mc-00077|| 5/15/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Maryland District Court|| 1:2009-cv-00688|| 3/19/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| California Central District Court|| 5:2009-mc-00005|| 2/19/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| California Central District Court|| 5:2009-mc-00004|| 2/19/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 1:2009-mc-00003|| 1/22/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 1:2009-mc-00002|| 1/22/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| California Southern District Court|| 3:2009-mc-00019|| 1/9/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| California Southern District Court|| 3:2009-mc-00018|| 1/9/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Washington District Court|| 2:2009-mc-00010|| 1/22/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Neveda District Court|| 3:2006-cv-00056|| 1/31/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (dft)|| Neveda District Court|| 3:2006-cv-00145|| 3/20/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (crd)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (cd)|| Neveda District Court|| 3:2006-cv-00056|| 1/31/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra (cc)|| Rhode Island District Court|| 1:2006-cv-00090|| 2/28/2006
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D (dft)|| California Central District Court|| 5:2009-cv-00078|| 1/13/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D (dft)|| California Central District Court|| 5:2009-mc-00003|| 2/17/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D (dft)|| California Central District Court|| 2:2009-cv-01284|| 3/2/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft)|| Oregon District Court|| 3:2009-mc-09054|| 2/17/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft)|| Washington District Court|| 2:2009-mc-00028|| 2/17/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00027|| 4/7/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00012|| 2/12/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (dft)|| Colorado District Court|| 1:2008-cv-02707|| 12/12/2008
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (a)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2010-cv-00009|| 3/16/2010
|-
|Blixseth, Edra D. (a)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00061|| 7/31/2009
|-
|Blixseth, Edra Crocker (dft)|| Oregon District Court|| 3:1986-cv-00804|| 6/24/1986
|-
|Blixseth, Beau (pla)|| Idaho District Court|| 1:2010-cv-00001|| 1/3/2010
|-
|Blixseth, Beau (e)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2010-cv-00009|| 3/16/2010
|-
|Blixseth Group (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2010-cv-00006|| 2/23/2010
|-
|Blixseth Group (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00027|| 4/7/2009
|-
|Blixseth Group (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2009-cv-00012|| 2/12/2009
|-
|Blixseth Group (dft)|| Montana District Court|| 2:2004-cv-00058|| 8/9/2004
|-
|}
-->

==Blixseth quotes==

:"It is once your ideas have been transformed into enough money, and if all failed, you would still live your lifestyle, and you understand that just because you have made more money than most, you are not better than the common person. We are all going to die broke." (Blixseth's definition of success) Tim Blixseth

:"I swore I was going to exclusively collect assets and not liabilities for the rest of my life. I swore never to take gambles I couldn’t back up, or that I couldn’t afford to lose. And, I’ve stuck with that ever since." Tim Blixseth

:"Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless." Tim Blixseth

:"The turning point, I think, was when I really realized that you can do it yourself. That you have to believe in you because sometimes that's the only person that does believe in your success but you." Tim Blixseth<ref>, Tim Blixseth, Woopido Business & Finance Quotes, Accessed December 6, 2011.</ref>


==References== ==References==
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==External links== ==External links==
* *, '']''.
*, Forbes, September 21, 2006. *, '']'', September 21, 2006.
* *Dexheimer, Eric, "", '']'', January 12, 1994.
* *
* *
*{{official website|http://timblixseth.com Tim Blixseth.com}}
*

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|NAME=Tim Blixseth
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Blixseth, Timothy L
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Co-Founder of ]
|DATE OF BIRTH=1950
|PLACE OF BIRTH=Oregon, U.S.
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blixseth, Tim}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Blixseth, Tim}}
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Latest revision as of 22:32, 7 December 2024

American real estate and timber baron
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Tim Blixseth
Born (1950-04-27) April 27, 1950 (age 74)
Roseburg, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation(s)Real estate, timber, songwriter
Spouses
  • Edra Denise Crocker Blixseth (1983 - 2008)
  • Jessica Ferguson Kircher
ChildrenBeau Blixseth (b. 1979)
Morgan Blixseth-Luccio(b. 1981)

Timothy Lee Blixseth (born 1950) is an American real estate developer, record producer, songwriter and timber baron. He was a co-founder of the Yellowstone Club in Montana. In 2006, Blixseth was featured in the Forbes 400 List of wealthiest Americans with a net worth of $1.3 billion. However, based on court records from his 2009 divorce, news reports estimated his 2011 net worth to have dropped to $200 million. By 2012, he faced a forced bankruptcy for failing to pay the state of Montana $57 million in income taxes and in 2014 he told the courts he was "too poor" to pay pending judgments and contempt findings for his fraud role in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy.

Blixseth's wealth and assets have been the subject of controversy. In 2008, the bankruptcy of the Yellowstone Club led to extensive litigation with Blixseth and his creditors. The property emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership in 2009.

Early life and education

According to Blixseth, he "grew up on welfare in Roseburg, Oregon". He attended Roseburg High School (Class of 1968) and after graduating, he worked in a sawmill. His parents were members of "a local cult" called Jesus Name of Oneness.

Career

Blixseth began his business career using land swap deals and federal timber contracts.

Timber

Following bankruptcies in 1981 and 1986, Blixseth began to rebuild his timber business endeavors. In 1988, he co-founded Crown Pacific, LTD with Peter Stott and within a year he had $44 million in sales.

During this time, Blixseth was involved with three Oregon companies that defaulted on 22 national timber sale contracts owed the U.S. Forest Service more than $8 million. Two of Blixseth's timber companies, Capital Veneer and Capital Log Sales, filed for bankruptcy with debts totaling more than $16 million. A third company, Little River Box Co., was dissolved following two federal contract defaults. By 1992 Blixseth had sold his interests in Crown Pacific and launched Big Sky Lumber in Montana.

In 1995 Blixseth's Big Sky Lumber sold another 8,100 acres (33 km) to the U.S. Forest Service for $16.4 million and then swapped the remaining 101,000 acres (410 km) in checkerboard layout for 47,000 acres (190 km) contiguous and an additional $25 million. Following this final sale and swap, Blixseth dissolved the Big Sky Lumber partnership and divided up the proceeds, keeping 15,000 acres (61 km) and tens of millions in cash for himself. The cash and new acres became the foundation for Blixseth's Yellowstone Club project. Blixseth with Pittsburgh financier James J. Dolan also started the Spanish Peaks development, a high-end but somewhat less exclusive resort on neighboring property to the Yellowstone Club with land from the swap deal. Spanish Peaks announced it was closing and filing for bankruptcy in 2011. Between sales to timber interests, developers and the U.S. government, Blixseth's team grossed $56.9 million and 47,000 acres (190 km) of prime development real estate valued at over $100 million in less than three years from the date of their initial $27.5 million investment, of which Blixseth reportedly put less than $3 million.

Yellowstone Club, Greg LeMond and Credit Suisse controversy

With cash and land from his 1995 deal with the U.S. Forest Service, Blixseth began development of 15,000 acres (61 km) of pristine Montana real estate outside of Big Sky. Blixseth said to a Montana Bankruptcy court as "I started the club with a pick-up truck and a hammer."

In 2005, they took in over $200 million from the sales of building lots and memberships to wealthy business leaders, media icons and celebrities. Early Club members and investors included Bill Gates, Mary Hart, Dan Quayle and Steve Case. Leading to the Club's eventual financial failure was Blixseth's dealings with cyclist Greg LeMond. In 2002 LeMond, with four other family members and associates, invested in the Yellowstone Club. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. Blixseth said he used the money to expand the Yellowstone Club into the Yellowstone World Club. In 2006 Blixseth told the New York Times that he "paid cash, with no help from investors, for each of the properties that make up the Yellowstone World Club."

The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort and for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one percent shares. LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million in 2007.

Blixseth appealed several aspects of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy. The judge found Blixseth's claims unconvincing, noting, "Given the evidence, Blixseth's arguments are without support" and on March 6, 2013 U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon denied Blixseth's final appeal noting his lack of standing to revisit his rejected claims of "bad faith" in the bankruptcy reorganization." In December 2013 Judge Haddon ruled Blixseth in contempt for committing fraud and deception against the Court after it was revealed that in 2011 he had illegally sold-off assets frozen by an earlier court order to cover judgments against him in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy proceedings.

Software

In 2006 the Blixseth's partnered with a computer software designer Dennis L. Montgomery, former Microsoft executive Michael Sandoval and former Congressman Jack Kemp to sell software they claimed could recognize patterns and objects hidden in video streams. They invested in several companies named Blxware, xPatterns, and OpSpring, and promoted their technology to the U.S. government as being able to identify hidden messages from Al-Qaeda terrorists in Al Jazeera broadcasts and find terrorists in pictures taken by CIA predator drones.

According to the New York Times, Mr. Kemp used his friendship with Vice President Dick Cheney to set up a meeting in 2006 at which Mr. Kemp, Montgomery and Ms. Blixseth met with a top Cheney adviser, Samantha Ravich, to talk about expanding the government's use of the Blxware software. Blixseth reportedly sought to sell the software to the government for $100 million; however, investigations later revealed it to be a "hoax" with CIA officials reporting they knew the technology to be fake as early as 2003.

The software was reportedly responsible for false terror alerts which grounded international flights and caused Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to raise the government's security level. In February 2006, the FBI opened an economic espionage and theft of intellectual property investigation. The U.S. Air Force office of Special Investigations also investigated. Bloomberg news reported that Blixseth family attorney Michael Flynn represented Edra Blixseth, Montgomery and Blxware against various charges until he claimed he learned the software "was a sham," characterized Montgomery as a "con man" and quit.

Songwriting

"Heart of America" is a charity single written by Blixseth and his wife, Edra Blixseth. The song became the anthem for the Today TV show's "Make a Difference" campaign to benefit the victims of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. The song was recorded by Wynonna Judd, Michael McDonald, and Eric Benet. In June 2006, Ebony magazine reported the song had raised $41 million with projected revenues of $100 million. In August 2006, The Desert Sun reported the song had generated $127 million in revenues for hurricane-relief charities.

Litigation, bankruptcies and defaults

Blixseth's personal and professional life has had a number of lawsuits. Following Blixseth's claims that his legal issues are the result of government corruption and conspiracies against him, in 2010 Blixseth filed suit to have Federal Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kischer removed from a case in which the judge issued a $40 million fraud judgement against him. Blixseth alleged the judge was biased against him and had conspired with Montana state government officials and the creditors suing Blixseth. The creditors, however, also disagree with the judge and have appealed his ruling claiming they are owed $286 million by Blixseth. In response to the conspiracy and bias charges, Judge Kirscher ruled against Blixseth's request for recusal noting, "This Court has not and will not succumb to any pressure, political or otherwise." Adding, Blixseth's "ultimate goal" appeared to be to upset prior rulings in the numerous cases against him pending various appeals.

In a separate bankruptcy case against Blixseth brought by California, Idaho and Montana tax officials in Nevada seeking tens of millions in allegedly unpaid taxes, Blixseth again claimed he was the victim of conspiracy and government corruption. "The state of Montana, the Montana Department of Revenue and their partners were in cahoots", Blixseth told the Associated Press, claiming Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer conspired with his ex-wife Edra, Yellowstone Club creditors and the tax authorities in three states seeking to bring him down. Blixseth added, "It's completely and absolutely provable, and we will be bringing all the facts out shortly." The state tax authorities, creditors and Governor Schweitzer all denied the conspiracy claims as "baseless allegations" having "no factual basis." In a subsequent press release by his attorney Mike Flynn, Blixseth claimed, "All parties who played any role in the forced bankruptcy will now be subject to depositions, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer."

In June 2011 Blixseth filed suit against one of his personal attorneys for legal malpractice and personal injury associated with the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy. Blixseth sought $375 million in damages claiming his former personal attorney Stephen Brown conspired to "plot against" him in bankruptcy proceedings which found Blixseth had looted the club prior to passing it debt-ridden to his wife Edra Blixseth as part of their divorce. Brown denied the claims. Blixseth's claims were dismissed in March 2012 by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy whose order noted, "The Bankruptcy Court addressed the Credit Suisse loan and the marital settlement agreement and concluded that (1) Mr. Blixseth fraudulently misappropriated the proceeds from the Credit Suisse loan and (2) the release in the marital settlement agreement was fraudulent." Blixseth's conspiracy and fraud allegations in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy were vacated in July 2011 by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case who ruled the accusations were previously addressed and found without merit. Blixseth then filed suit against Credit Suisse and their appraisal company claiming they deceived and mislead him into accepting some $300 million in loan payments which eventually led to the resort's bankruptcy. A claim to which Credit Suisse responded, "This is simply the latest attempt to shift blame to others and away from his own conduct" in a Bloomberg News report which added, "Blixseth had, among other things, been ordered to pay $40 million to creditors in 2010 when a federal judge pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on a series of his fraudulent deals." Creditors are seeking an additional $286 million in alleged misappropriated funds which trustees claim Blixseth looted from the Yellowstone Club prior to its bankruptcy. Blixseth continues to fight these claims and seeks to have the various judgments against him vacated.

In December 2014 and again in April 2015 he was jailed for civil contempt for failing to pay court ordered sanctions and disclose what happened to assets the court had ordered held to pay his creditors. In July 2016, Blixseth was granted bail pending appeal and was released.

Personal life

Tim Blixseth has two children, son Beau and daughter Morgan, from his second wife Desiree Langlois. In 1981 he met and married his third wife Edra Denise Crocker, a partner in a local Roseburg-based hotel and restaurant business called Choo-Choo Willy's. Crocker had two children from a previous marriage, Julie Barve and Matthew Crocker. Blixseth married his fourth wife Jessica T. Ferguson Kircher after his 2009 divorce. In 2016 Ferguson served Blixseth with divorce papers while he was serving jail time for contempt of court.

Blixseth's third divorce from wife Edra Denise Crocker was first touted in 2009 as a case study in amicable separations where the two hashed out their agreement over wine at a Hollywood hotel without attorneys. However, wife Edra and creditors later claimed Blixseth duped her into taking on debt-encumbered assets while keeping cash and siphoning off liquid assets for himself. The debt burden which accompanied Ms. Crocker's portion of the divorce settlement subsequently forced her and the Yellowstone Club business into bankruptcy.

While initially both were quoted amicably about each other and the divorce, the tide quickly changed as the details of Ms. Blixseth's newly acquired financial debts came to light. Commenting on ex-husband Tim, Ms. Blixseth told the New York Times in 2009, "I would rather feel the cold steel of a revolver in the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger than to ever think about living a day with that man again."

References

  1. Former timber baron Blixseth goes on trial, accused of 'looting' $286M from Yellowstone Club, Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 23, 2010.
  2. Ex-billionaire to seek sanctions, Seattle Times, May 18, 2011.
  3. Court: Montana can pursue resort founder Tim Blixseth into bankruptcy, by The Associated Press, The Oregonian, December 18, 2012.
  4. 9th Circ. Upholds Contempt For Bankrupt Ski Club's Founder, by Jeff Sistrunk, Law360, October 9, 2014.
  5. Blixseth - Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Rules Nevada Is Proper Venue For Involuntary Bankruptcy Against Former Billionaire Because Holding Companies Formed There, by Jay Adkisson, Forbes Magazine, December 30, 2012.
  6. Tim Blixseth claims he's too broke to comply with court order in continuing battle over Yellowstone Club, by Jeff Manning, The Oregonian, December 18, 2014.
  7. Blixseth fraud trial court seeks assets and answers, New West, February 25, 2010.
  8. Yellowstone Ski Resort for Super Rich Files Bankruptcy, Fox News, November 12, 2008.
  9. "Settlement reached in decade-long legal saga over Yellowstone Club bankruptcy". Helena Independent Record. Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  10. Tim Blixseth asks judge to punish tax officials, will donate all punitive damages to legal aid, Tim Blixseth Press Release - PRNEWS Wire, June 2, 2011
  11. ^ Cohan, William Paradise Lost, Forbes Magazine, February 6, 2008.
  12. Here's how Blixseth did it, Bozeman Chronicle, April 12, 2008
  13. Tim Blixseth, Twisted saga of a former billionaire, Property & Wealth Magazine, December 2011
  14. Montana's members only mountain, Oregonian, March 18, 2001
  15. Crown Pacific deals its way into county timber market, The Bulletin (Bend, DeChutes County, Oregon), December 2, 1988.
  16. "Here's how Blixseth did it". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. 12 April 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  17. The $100 million house the Blixseth built, Bozeman Chronicle, April 15, 2008.
  18. Spanish Peaks closes, employees laid off, Bozeman Chronicle, October 10, 2011.
  19. Tim Blixseth defends Yellowstone Club deals, New West, April 29, 2009.
  20. The most expensive private clubs, Forbes, September 1, 2005.
  21. "That’s Tim as in timber" Denver Westword News, 12 January 1994
  22. Club Med for the Multimillionaire Set, by Susan Dominus, New York Times Magazine, March 5, 2006.
  23. "LeMond claims he was swindled on Montana’s millionaire mountain" Bloomberg News, 27 October 2006
  24. "Greg LeMond ‘s lawsuit with exclusive club settled," "USA Today", 15 August 2008
  25. "LeMond continues long legal fight with Yellowstone Club" New West, 21 November 2008
  26. Judge: Blixseth responsible for Yellowstone Club collapse, New West, August 18, 2010
  27. In RE: Yellowstone Mountain Club, Timothy Blixseth Appellant, Case 2:11-cv-00071-SEH, Document 26, Filed 03/06/13 United States District Court Montana.
  28. Tim Blixseth in contempt for selling Mexican resort, judge says, Associated Press, December 31.2013.
  29. Atigeo at issue in divorce settlement, by Brier Dudley, Seattle Times, June 26, 2008.
  30. Yellowstone Club Chronicles: The Edra Blixseth Bankruptcy, by Jonathan Weber, New West, June 11, 2009.
  31. Hiding Details of Dubious Deal, U.S. Invokes National Security, by Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, New York Times, February 19, 2011.
  32. Programmer conned CIA, Pentagon into buying bogus anti-terror code, Wired Magazine, December 28, 2009.
  33. Nevada company's troubles, Las Vegas Review Journal, June 7, 2009
  34. Yellowstone Club Divorcee Entangled in Terrorist Software Suits, by Anthony Effinger, Bloomberg, August 29, 2008.
  35. US regretting dubious deal with computer programmer, Boston Globe, February 20, 2011.
  36. Club Med for the millionaire set, by Susan Dominus, New York Times Magazine, March 5, 2006.
  37. Ward, Leah (Oct 23, 2005) Considerable land swap in the works, Yakima Herald-Republic
  38. Heart of America on YouTube, Accessed October 2011.
  39. Kinnon, Joy Bennett (June 1, 2006) Eric Benet's voyage for India: singer-songwriter is balancing stardom and fatherhood., Ebony, ("It is estimated that the project will raise $100 million to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. To date, $41 million has been raised")
  40. Downs, Maggie (Aug 6, 2006) Blixseth's tune raises $127 million for ongoing hurricane relief efforts, The Desert Sun, August 30, 2006.
  41. Twisted saga involving former billionaire Tim Blixseth takes another turn, Forbes Magazine, April 7, 2011.
  42. Blixseth says bankruptcy judge biased, Billings Gazette, October 11, 2010
  43. Judge won't step down from Yellowstone bankruptcy cases, My Desert News, February 28, 2011
  44. Ex-billionaire takes on Montana authorities, Associated Press, May 19, 2011
  45. Blixseth press release, PR Newswire, May 18, 2011
  46. "Yellowstone Club Owner's $375M Malpractice Suit Shut Down - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  47. Yellowstone Club founder blames lawyer for woes, Bozeman Chronicle, June 9, 2011
  48. Yellowstone Club Owner's $375M Malpractice Suit Shut Down, Law360, March 5, 2012.
  49. Judge vacates further hearings in Montana resort bankruptcy case, Greenfield Reporter, 27 July 2011
  50. Resort founder sues Swiss bank for fraud, Spokesman Review, 25 July 2011
  51. Failed resort owner wants to join $2.5 billion lawsuit, Bloomberg News, 25 July 2011
  52. Yellowstone Trustee loses bid to raise $40M judgment, Law360, October 7, 2011
  53. Brown, Matthew (December 18, 2014). "Ex-billionaire Blixseth booked into Missoula County jail; judge demands accounting for millions". Associated Press.
  54. Matthew Brown and Amy Beth Hason (April 20, 2015). "Judge Returns Ultra-Rich Club Founder Tim Blixseth to Jail]". Associated Press.
  55. Drake, Phil (July 7, 2016). "What will Tim Blixseth do with his freedom?". Great Falls Tribune.
  56. Yellowstone Trustee Sues Blixseth's Wife Over Missing Assets, by Daniel Fisher, Forbes Magazine, October 14, 2014.
  57. Billionaire who went bust is out of jail and still owes millions. Many are watching his next move, by Rick Anderson, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2016.
  58. A billionaire divorce - and not a lawyer in site, Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2007.
  59. Edra Blixseth gets the Yellowstone Club, Forbes, August 16, 2008
  60. Checkmate at the Yellowstone Club, New York Times, June 14, 2009

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