I-Team Investigation looks into 2nd lawsuit filed against Jim Casey

Update 05/09/17:

Palm Springs police confirmed they are investigating Jim Casey’s death as a suicide.

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Original article 05/04/17:

We have continuing coverage on the investigation into Jim Casey, a local philanthropist who was found dead earlier this week. We’ve learned Casey was embroiled in not one, but two lawsuits that included his investment management company.

I-Team: Local businessman was facing federal lawsuit before his death

Haddon Libby with Winslow Drake remembers his reaction to the death of a former friend and client, Integrated Wealth Management (IWM) Founder and Coachella Valley philanthropist Jim Casey.

A man, he said, who was a close contact at one point in the investment industry.

“I was really surprised,” Libby said. “When they first moved to town, we had many friends in common. And I helped him to win some of his early clients.”

But Libby, like others, are reacting to news of the late investment advisor in the middle of two lawsuits filed in the last two years.

The first by a medical group, claiming Casey mismanaged millions of dollars related to a pension plan.

The other, filed in February 2015 in a Los Angeles County Superior Court by former client Erica Murray, alleges Casey secretly invested millions of Murray’s dollars into film productions without her knowing.

Libby said he experienced first-hand what he believed were questionable dealings, similar to ones outlined in the lawsuits.

“He tried to get a loan through without one of his client’s signature,” he said. “So there was some thought that there could be that the client may not have known that the loan was going on. That was my first sense that I should be more careful.”

Libby also said this type of activity isn’t uncommon amongst other advisors within the investment industry.

“There’s a reason why the investment management community has a reputation that is lower than Congress,” he said. “The reason for that is because so many people make used car salesmen seem like a group of ‘Mother Teresas.’ They win your confidence. They win your personal trust. And then they pick your pocket the whole time.”

Moving forward, Libby said he hopes what customers take out of this is to always double-check any investment.

“If your investment advisor puts you in illiquid investments, like a variable-rate annuity, or a limited rate partnership, or private loans, get a second opinion from someone else,” he said. “Because there’s a very good chance that they’re working on their own best interests and not yours.”

KESQ and CBS Local 2 received a statement from one of Casey’s former business partners, Kim Waltrip.

Waltrip said, “My business with Jim was limited to films and we dissolved that relationship in 2014.”

She went on to add that their business relationship ended shortly after Murray filed the suit.

Casey’s attorneys had no comment regarding the suit.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 is still waiting to hear back from Integrated Wealth Management and the plantiffs’ attorneys in the lawsuits.

As of Wednesday night, no new details were available regarding the investigation into Casey’s death.

Read: More of today’s Top Stories More I-Team Investigative Reports from KESQ News Channel 3