Former Governor Unknowingly Worked for Non-registered Securities Firm

ORLANDO-Big names are beginning to drop in the mysterious Evergreen Security Ltd. bankruptcy court case here as allegations of fraud from some creditors are surfacing. The firm isn't licensed with either the US Securities and Exchange Commission or the Florida Division of Securities, according to ongoing hearings in Orlando. A total $200 million of investors' money can't be accounted for.

The British Virgin Islands-based firm allegedly sold investment notes promising a $10% annual return to individuals worldwide. The firm operated from a Downtown Orlando office from 1994 to January of this year when Evergreen filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

Investors believed Evergreen's assets comprised mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the US government, the court was told. Now those investors are out $200 million and possibly more, according to a growing group of creditors filing claims to any assets Evergreen may have currently or in the future. So far, none have been found.

Even Bob Martinez, a Tampa, FL lawyer and governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991, told Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Briskman in the latest round of hearings that he understood Evergreen's investment fund was backed by government mortgage-backed securities. He worked for Evergreen's management company from 1994 to 1998 while he was in private law practice.

Martinez told the court he had first represented Evergreen in Central and South America in 1994 through a contract with ABP Inc., Evergreen's first manager. The firm was then owned by Orlando investors Robert Boyd, Thomas Spencer and Thomas A. Coyle, according to court records.

Martinez told the court he continued his limited association with Evergreen after another management company, BMJ International Services Inc. of Orlando, headed by Martin W. Boelens Jr., took over in 1998. But he didn't travel for BMJ or Evergreen at that time, he told the court.

Evergreen's current owner, William J. Zylka, has promised to repay the $200 million to investors over a four-year period but told the court he has only potential gold mine and oil land assets in Paraguay and Canada as collateral.

Zylka has acknowledged to the court he borrowed about $4 million from companies he controlled instead of drawing a salary as president of Evergreen. Zylka also acknowledged to the court the money he borrowed from his companies came from Evergreen.

None of the Evergreen principals involved could be reached for comment at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline. But lawyers following the case tell GlobeSt.com, on condition of anonymity, that more big-name business personalities will surface as the hearings continue.