A jury awarded investors approximately $58 million in a lawsuit against a former Oregon Republican Party chairman who was accused of defrauding three venture capital funds he founded, and the funds' now-defunct accounting firm, Arthur Andersen.
Craig Berkman (pictured) admitted during the trial to withdrawing $5.2 million from the three funds, but claimed they were either stock purchases or loans. He lost approximately $60 million of the $75 million in the funds after the dot-com bubble burst.
The Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded investors $13 million and an additional $15 million in punitive damages from Berkman for negligence, breach of fiduciary loyalty and breach of contract, along with between $23 million and $30 million from Andersen for fraud, negligence and negligent misrepresentation.
"This is a great day of redemption for our clients; they have all been through a lot over the past five years," said lead attorney Steve English of Bullivant House Bailey in a statement. "We couldn't be more pleased about our clients' victory. Justice has been served."
