Financial Collapse Of Exclusive Resort Pinned On Blixseth

A federal judge has pinned the financial collapse of the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club on its founder, former Rancho Mirage resident Tim Blixseth, but says he doesn’t have to repay all its debts.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher says in a 135-page ruling issued Thursday that Blixseth siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from the private Montana ski club that counts Microsoft’s Bill Gates among its membership.

Kirscher ordered Blixseth to repay most of the club’s creditors for losses stemming from its 2008 bankruptcy. That could amount to tens of millions of dollars.

But Kirscher denied repayment to the financial giant Credit Suisse. The judge said the firm knew most of a $375 million loan it arranged for the club would go straight into Blixseth’s pockets.