David L. Paul
| David L. Paul | |
|---|---|
| Born |
David L. Paul 1940 (age 76–77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | real estate developer, banker |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Ruth Goldstein Paul Isadore Paul |
| Family | Bruce Wolosoff (brother-in-law) |
David L. Paul (born 1940) was an American banker, real estate developer, and founder of CenTrust Bank.
Paul was born in 1940 to a Jewish family, the son of Ruth (nee Goldstein) and Isadore Paul. His father founded a chain of dry cleaning stores and died when he was ten. His mother returned to New York City while her son remained in Florida where he was raised by a nurse and attended Catholic schools in Miami Beach, Florida
He started his career in Connecticut where his company, David Paul Properties, built two controversial apartment buildings. He then took control of a Massachusetts Real Estate Investment Trust called the Westport Company. In 1979, Westport purchased the American Furniture Mart in Chicago for $6.5 million with plans to convert it into apartments. In 1983, Paul purchased the near bankrupt Dade Savings and Loan Association through the transfer of 92% of his interest in Westport, renaming it CenTrust Bank. By 1988, CenTrust was the largest thrift institution in the southeastern United States with $8.2 billion in assets. He built the $90 million, I.M. Pei-designed CenTrust Tower. In 1989, CenTrust lost $119 million and in 1990, Centrust lost $1.7 billion and was seized by the federal government after "excessive and inappropriate expenses and investments." Paul was ousted as chairman.
On November 25, 1993, Paul was convicted of fraud in Federal Court for making personal use of CenTrust's funds while the savings and loan was failing. Paul was convicted on 68 counts consisting of 47 counts of bank fraud, 9 of misapplication of Centrust funds, 5 of filing false tax returns, 4 of mail fraud, 2 of obstruction of regulators, one count of conspiracy and one count of making false entries on Centrust books. Facing a maximum of 350 years in prison he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $65 million ($60 million in restitution and a $5 million fine). He was released in 2004.
Paul donated $500,000 to the University of Miami and $100,000 to Barry University. Paul served as the head of the governing body of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Through his CenTrust Political Action Committee, Paul donated to both Joe Biden's and Richard Gephardt's presidential campaigns as well as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
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