The late Vanessa Patterson
A dispute that began with accusations of stolen money and a mysterious death has come to a quiet end in Henrico County Circuit Court.
The 18-month lawsuit between well-known local businessman Stuart Siegel and the estate of his now-deceased bookkeeper and personal assistant Vanessa Patterson was dismissed last month after both sides reached a settlement.
Terms of the resolution were not disclosed in court filings, which stated only that the matter was “settled and compromised.”
Court filings state the saga began in 2022, when Siegel, who formerly helmed menswear giant S&K, said he discovered Patterson had long been stealing money from him, to the tune of around $1 million.
When Siegel confronted Patterson about the funds later that year, she resigned as his longtime assistant, only to be found dead weeks later under mysterious circumstances after the FBI had begun to investigate in early 2023.
That June, Siegel sought to recover the stolen money by suing Peter Yaffe, Patterson’s longtime boyfriend and executor of her estate, as well as Patterson’s sons and her company, Association Management Specialists, to which much of the money was allegedly funneled.
Siegel, for whom VCU’s Siegel Center is named, claimed he ultimately found that Patterson’s scheme began in 2014, and involved forging checks and using 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.
Stuart Siegel
Siegel claimed his money unknowingly helped pay for Patterson’s home overlooking the golf course at Richmond Country Club in Goochland, as well as her 2021 purchase of a home in Roatan, Honduras, a small Caribbean island.
Money was also funneled to various bank, investment and retirement accounts for the benefit of Patterson, and allegedly for Yaffe and the others.
The lawsuit sought to force the defendants to turn over money and other assets and create a trust that would prevent additional money from being spent while the case played out.
As part of their defense, Yaffe and the others argued that some of Siegel’s claims should be dismissed, particularly in light of their cooperation with the FBI.
The defendants emphasized they had no knowledge of the dealings between Siegel and Patterson and that Patterson was the only target of the FBI’s investigation.
Siegel eventually disclosed in court filings that Yaffe and the Patterson sons initially agreed to turn over assets totaling $250,000 to the FBI that had been determined to be traceable back to funds Patterson embezzled from Siegel.
Those assets included money held in various bank and investment accounts in the name of Yaffe or the sons, as well as a luxury automobile the FBI found was purchased by Patterson with stolen funds and was in Yaffe’s possession.
The total amount Patterson stole and embezzled from the plaintiff is alleged to be $1.07 million, according to court filings.
As part of the FBI’s investigation, Yaffe agreed to forfeit $50,775 of the funds AMS contributed into his retirement account, plus another $79,000 in investment gains and $92,000 from another account.
Siegel continued to fight for the recovery of the remaining $800,000 and the case had been set to go to trial this April. But it wasn’t to be, as the dismissal was issued Jan. 29.
The settlement called for the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Siegel was represented in the case by attorney John Burke Jr. of the J.K. Burke Law Firm. Burke and Siegel declined to comment on the settlement.
Yaffe was represented by Belinda Jones of Christian & Barton, who did not respond to a request for comment. The Patterson estate was represented by Ryan Young of Young Law, who declined to comment.
Vanessa Patterson died Feb. 8, 2023 under circumstances that are still not fully clear. Siegel’s court filings claimed that she committed suicide, while an affidavit from an FBI agent included in the court record states that Henrico police were still investigating her death and “has not ruled out the possibility that Patterson committed suicide.”
The FBI affidavit states that a pedestrian discovered Patterson on the ground next to a four-story parking garage next to her home in a Henrico townhouse complex.
Copies of death certificates in Virginia are available only to family members for the first 25 years after death.
The late Vanessa Patterson
A dispute that began with accusations of stolen money and a mysterious death has come to a quiet end in Henrico County Circuit Court.
The 18-month lawsuit between well-known local businessman Stuart Siegel and the estate of his now-deceased bookkeeper and personal assistant Vanessa Patterson was dismissed last month after both sides reached a settlement.
Terms of the resolution were not disclosed in court filings, which stated only that the matter was “settled and compromised.”
Court filings state the saga began in 2022, when Siegel, who formerly helmed menswear giant S&K, said he discovered Patterson had long been stealing money from him, to the tune of around $1 million.
When Siegel confronted Patterson about the funds later that year, she resigned as his longtime assistant, only to be found dead weeks later under mysterious circumstances after the FBI had begun to investigate in early 2023.
That June, Siegel sought to recover the stolen money by suing Peter Yaffe, Patterson’s longtime boyfriend and executor of her estate, as well as Patterson’s sons and her company, Association Management Specialists, to which much of the money was allegedly funneled.
Siegel, for whom VCU’s Siegel Center is named, claimed he ultimately found that Patterson’s scheme began in 2014, and involved forging checks and using 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.
Stuart Siegel
Siegel claimed his money unknowingly helped pay for Patterson’s home overlooking the golf course at Richmond Country Club in Goochland, as well as her 2021 purchase of a home in Roatan, Honduras, a small Caribbean island.
Money was also funneled to various bank, investment and retirement accounts for the benefit of Patterson, and allegedly for Yaffe and the others.
The lawsuit sought to force the defendants to turn over money and other assets and create a trust that would prevent additional money from being spent while the case played out.
As part of their defense, Yaffe and the others argued that some of Siegel’s claims should be dismissed, particularly in light of their cooperation with the FBI.
The defendants emphasized they had no knowledge of the dealings between Siegel and Patterson and that Patterson was the only target of the FBI’s investigation.
Siegel eventually disclosed in court filings that Yaffe and the Patterson sons initially agreed to turn over assets totaling $250,000 to the FBI that had been determined to be traceable back to funds Patterson embezzled from Siegel.
Those assets included money held in various bank and investment accounts in the name of Yaffe or the sons, as well as a luxury automobile the FBI found was purchased by Patterson with stolen funds and was in Yaffe’s possession.
The total amount Patterson stole and embezzled from the plaintiff is alleged to be $1.07 million, according to court filings.
As part of the FBI’s investigation, Yaffe agreed to forfeit $50,775 of the funds AMS contributed into his retirement account, plus another $79,000 in investment gains and $92,000 from another account.
Siegel continued to fight for the recovery of the remaining $800,000 and the case had been set to go to trial this April. But it wasn’t to be, as the dismissal was issued Jan. 29.
The settlement called for the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Siegel was represented in the case by attorney John Burke Jr. of the J.K. Burke Law Firm. Burke and Siegel declined to comment on the settlement.
Yaffe was represented by Belinda Jones of Christian & Barton, who did not respond to a request for comment. The Patterson estate was represented by Ryan Young of Young Law, who declined to comment.
Vanessa Patterson died Feb. 8, 2023 under circumstances that are still not fully clear. Siegel’s court filings claimed that she committed suicide, while an affidavit from an FBI agent included in the court record states that Henrico police were still investigating her death and “has not ruled out the possibility that Patterson committed suicide.”
The FBI affidavit states that a pedestrian discovered Patterson on the ground next to a four-story parking garage next to her home in a Henrico townhouse complex.
Copies of death certificates in Virginia are available only to family members for the first 25 years after death.
So very sad for all involved.
This sounds like an episode of Dateline – “A dispute that began with accusations of stolen money and a mysterious death has come to a quiet end in Henrico County Circuit Court.”