Vanessa Patterson died suddenly on Feb. 8, “under mysterious circumstances.”
In the obituary published after her unexpected death in February, Vanessa Patterson is remembered for her love of traveling, hosting champagne parties, spoiling her family and friends, and for achieving her dream of purchasing a home in the Caribbean.
But Stuart Siegel, the well-known Richmond businessman who for years employed Patterson as his personal assistant, claims there’s more to the story of her largess.
Siegel, the former head of once-mighty menswear brand S&K and the namesake of VCU’s Siegel Center basketball arena, alleges that Patterson was stealing money from him for at least two years, to the tune of at least $1 million.
According to a lawsuit Siegel filed last month in Henrico County Circuit Court, Patterson spent the embezzled money to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself, her longtime boyfriend Peter Yaffe and her sons.
When Siegel confronted her about it, she told him she was resigning as his assistant, the lawsuit claims.
Then, earlier this year, when the FBI questioned her about the money, Patterson died “under mysterious circumstances,” according to the June 12 suit.
The case claims her death passed control of her assets – including some alleged to have been stolen from Siegel – to Yaffe and her two sons, Carter and Graydon Patterson.
Siegel is suing Yaffe, who is the executor of Patterson’s estate, as well as her two sons and her company, Association Management Specialists, which allegedly received much of the stolen funds and funneled it to Patterson and the others.
The lawsuit seeks to recover the stolen funds from the defendants and in the near term create a trust that would prevent the money from being spent while the case plays out.
VCU’s Siegel Center, named for Stuart Siegel. (Photo by Jeff Auth)
According to her obituary, which is included as an exhibit in the lawsuit, Patterson was born in Texas in 1968, before living in Southern California and ultimately settling in Richmond in 1996.
While the lawsuit doesn’t specify the duration of the job, Siegel states Patterson worked as his part-time personal assistant and bookkeeper for a rate of $30 an hour. The suit says she typically worked two half-days per week in that role at Siegel’s office in Henrico.
Patterson was responsible for preparing checks for Siegel’s signature, but he alleges that at some point she began forging her boss’s signature and making the checks payable to herself and Association Management Specialists.
AMS, according to its website, appears to offer management services of other nonprofit associations. Patterson’s obituary states that she oversaw at least two such associations: the Richmond Area Municipal Contractors Association and the Precast Concrete Association of Virginia.
AMS, Siegel claims, was the vehicle for much of the theft.
“Patterson owned and controlled AMS, and used it as her personal piggy bank for a substantial amount of the funds she stole from plaintiff,” the lawsuit states.
Stuart Siegel
Siegel claims the situation came to a head when he questioned Patterson about two checks from his checking account, one payable to her personally and one to AMS.
Patterson, the suit alleges, told Siegel she’d look into the matter before shortly thereafter informing him she had to stop working for him.
Siegel then had his accounting service dig through bank statements and previously written checks. The search, the lawsuit states, found that Patterson had stolen approximately $1 million from Siegel, including at least $500,000 worth of forged checks in 2021 and 2022.
The lawsuit states that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was informed of the theft and a federal investigation was apparently launched.
Shortly before her death on Feb. 8, an FBI agent met with Patterson, Siegel claims. She was given a “target letter” informing her that the FBI was investigating her in connection with the embezzlement. The suit claims that the letter offered Patterson a chance to “resolve the matter before an indictment or the issuance of an arrest warrant.”
She was given two weeks to respond but never did, the suit states.
“Patterson died suddenly and unexpectedly on Feb. 8, 2023,” the suit states.
The details of her death are unclear. The obituary states only that she died unexpectedly. Copies of death certificates in Virginia are available only to family members for the first 25 years after death.
The defendants have yet to file a response in the case and it’s unclear who is representing them in the matter.
A message left for Yaffe last week was not returned. The number for Association Management Specialists is no longer in service and Carter and Graydon Patterson could not be reached for comment.
Much like Patterson’s obituary, Siegel’s lawsuit details his former assistant’s taste for certain extravagances. He claims she used his money to buy herself an Audi A5, expensive vacations in the U.S. and abroad, cars and tuition at private schools and college for her sons, and a horse and horse trailer for one of her sons.
Siegel claims money stolen from him helped pay for a home overlooking the golf course at Richmond Country Club in Goochland that Patterson shared with Yaffe and that was sold for $759,000 a few months prior to her death. Siegel claims he also unknowingly helped fund Patterson’s 2021 purchase of a home in Roatan, Honduras, a small Caribbean island.
Patterson, the suit claims, also deposited stolen funds into bank accounts, IRAs and 401(k) plans that through her death are now in the name of Yaffe and/or her sons. One of those IRAs was allegedly created the day she died.
The 13-page lawsuit alleges fraud and unjust enrichment and asks for the creation of a constructive trust for the funds. It also asks for a judgment against the defendants in the amount of $1 million plus 6 percent interest annually.
Siegel, reached by email last week, declined to comment on the case.
He is represented by Richmond attorney John Burke Jr. of the J.K. Burke Law Firm.
Vanessa Patterson died suddenly on Feb. 8, “under mysterious circumstances.”
In the obituary published after her unexpected death in February, Vanessa Patterson is remembered for her love of traveling, hosting champagne parties, spoiling her family and friends, and for achieving her dream of purchasing a home in the Caribbean.
But Stuart Siegel, the well-known Richmond businessman who for years employed Patterson as his personal assistant, claims there’s more to the story of her largess.
Siegel, the former head of once-mighty menswear brand S&K and the namesake of VCU’s Siegel Center basketball arena, alleges that Patterson was stealing money from him for at least two years, to the tune of at least $1 million.
According to a lawsuit Siegel filed last month in Henrico County Circuit Court, Patterson spent the embezzled money to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself, her longtime boyfriend Peter Yaffe and her sons.
When Siegel confronted her about it, she told him she was resigning as his assistant, the lawsuit claims.
Then, earlier this year, when the FBI questioned her about the money, Patterson died “under mysterious circumstances,” according to the June 12 suit.
The case claims her death passed control of her assets – including some alleged to have been stolen from Siegel – to Yaffe and her two sons, Carter and Graydon Patterson.
Siegel is suing Yaffe, who is the executor of Patterson’s estate, as well as her two sons and her company, Association Management Specialists, which allegedly received much of the stolen funds and funneled it to Patterson and the others.
The lawsuit seeks to recover the stolen funds from the defendants and in the near term create a trust that would prevent the money from being spent while the case plays out.
VCU’s Siegel Center, named for Stuart Siegel. (Photo by Jeff Auth)
According to her obituary, which is included as an exhibit in the lawsuit, Patterson was born in Texas in 1968, before living in Southern California and ultimately settling in Richmond in 1996.
While the lawsuit doesn’t specify the duration of the job, Siegel states Patterson worked as his part-time personal assistant and bookkeeper for a rate of $30 an hour. The suit says she typically worked two half-days per week in that role at Siegel’s office in Henrico.
Patterson was responsible for preparing checks for Siegel’s signature, but he alleges that at some point she began forging her boss’s signature and making the checks payable to herself and Association Management Specialists.
AMS, according to its website, appears to offer management services of other nonprofit associations. Patterson’s obituary states that she oversaw at least two such associations: the Richmond Area Municipal Contractors Association and the Precast Concrete Association of Virginia.
AMS, Siegel claims, was the vehicle for much of the theft.
“Patterson owned and controlled AMS, and used it as her personal piggy bank for a substantial amount of the funds she stole from plaintiff,” the lawsuit states.
Stuart Siegel
Siegel claims the situation came to a head when he questioned Patterson about two checks from his checking account, one payable to her personally and one to AMS.
Patterson, the suit alleges, told Siegel she’d look into the matter before shortly thereafter informing him she had to stop working for him.
Siegel then had his accounting service dig through bank statements and previously written checks. The search, the lawsuit states, found that Patterson had stolen approximately $1 million from Siegel, including at least $500,000 worth of forged checks in 2021 and 2022.
The lawsuit states that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was informed of the theft and a federal investigation was apparently launched.
Shortly before her death on Feb. 8, an FBI agent met with Patterson, Siegel claims. She was given a “target letter” informing her that the FBI was investigating her in connection with the embezzlement. The suit claims that the letter offered Patterson a chance to “resolve the matter before an indictment or the issuance of an arrest warrant.”
She was given two weeks to respond but never did, the suit states.
“Patterson died suddenly and unexpectedly on Feb. 8, 2023,” the suit states.
The details of her death are unclear. The obituary states only that she died unexpectedly. Copies of death certificates in Virginia are available only to family members for the first 25 years after death.
The defendants have yet to file a response in the case and it’s unclear who is representing them in the matter.
A message left for Yaffe last week was not returned. The number for Association Management Specialists is no longer in service and Carter and Graydon Patterson could not be reached for comment.
Much like Patterson’s obituary, Siegel’s lawsuit details his former assistant’s taste for certain extravagances. He claims she used his money to buy herself an Audi A5, expensive vacations in the U.S. and abroad, cars and tuition at private schools and college for her sons, and a horse and horse trailer for one of her sons.
Siegel claims money stolen from him helped pay for a home overlooking the golf course at Richmond Country Club in Goochland that Patterson shared with Yaffe and that was sold for $759,000 a few months prior to her death. Siegel claims he also unknowingly helped fund Patterson’s 2021 purchase of a home in Roatan, Honduras, a small Caribbean island.
Patterson, the suit claims, also deposited stolen funds into bank accounts, IRAs and 401(k) plans that through her death are now in the name of Yaffe and/or her sons. One of those IRAs was allegedly created the day she died.
The 13-page lawsuit alleges fraud and unjust enrichment and asks for the creation of a constructive trust for the funds. It also asks for a judgment against the defendants in the amount of $1 million plus 6 percent interest annually.
Siegel, reached by email last week, declined to comment on the case.
He is represented by Richmond attorney John Burke Jr. of the J.K. Burke Law Firm.
Siegel trusted all his check-writing to a very part-time employee; not too smart.
Not too smart
“her death on Feb. 8,” it says, so the shoud know how she passed away by now, yes?