The Denver-area hedge-fund manager accused of running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme is described by friends and neighbors as a soft-spoken and quiet family man — not flashy or flamboyant.
But Sean Mueller’s expansive, Tudor-style Cherry Hills Village home and a pricey car left some wondering how Mueller could prosper during the economic downturn.
Mueller and his wife, Angela, threw a large New Year’s Eve party 16 months ago for friends and neighbors that raised a few eyebrows, one neighbor said. It was one of several parties the couple hosted since moving to the neighborhood in 2006, including birthday and Halloween parties for their two young sons.
“Angie said that it was a rough time for a lot of people, but they had actually done well, so they wanted to share their success,” she said.
On Tuesday, Colorado authorities seized Mueller’s bank accounts, accusing the hedge-fund manager of running a Ponzi scheme. Mueller sent e-mails to friends and clients on April 22 indicating he planned to kill himself and apologizing for investment losses.
Greenwood Village police found him sitting on the second-story ledge of a four-story RTD park-n-Ride building near his office at 6400 S. Fiddlers Green Circle. Mueller agreed to be hospitalized, police said.
The state claims Mueller raised more than $20 million from three investors and that at least 30 more also may have made “substantial investments.” Mueller’s financial statements from December claim his fund held $122 million, but a bank account seized by the state held just $15 million. Mueller said in a note last week that the account had all that was left of his funds, and he admitted to falsifying documents.
He did not return a call Wednesday, and Angela Mueller declined to comment.
Mueller, 41, is believed to have attracted prominent Colorado residents to invest with his Mueller Capital Management firm. Former Janus Fund manager Blaine Rollins was his director of research.
Rollins’ attorney, Dan Shea of Hogan & Hartson, said that Rollins had invested a significant amount with Mueller and had no knowledge of the alleged Ponzi scheme.
Mueller said in e-mails that he was the only one aware of misdeeds at the company.
Tall, thin and bespectacled, Mueller is an avid golfer, skis regularly at Beaver Creek with his family and is a big Denver Broncos fan, friends said. He recently became a member of Cherry Hills Country Club and had previously belonged to Glenmoor Country Club.
Several neighbors told The Denver Post that Mueller never solicited investments from them.
The Muellers and Mueller Capital Management contributed at least $5,000 in 2008 to the Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home. Mueller also donated $10,000 to a 2003 charity auction held by , a website for financial professionals.
Mueller grew up in a middle-class south Denver neighborhood near East Evans Avenue and South Downing Street. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes school from first through eighth grade, then Denver South High School. He played varsity golf and baseball at South.
Thomas Martinez, a former classmate and lifelong friend of Mueller, described him as a devout Catholic and “really a good guy.”
“He’s a very loyal friend, the kind of guy who would do as much as he could for a friend,” said Martinez, who now lives in Victoria, Texas. “I was totally shocked when I heard the news about Sean.”
Martinez said he thinks Mueller had no intention of defrauding investors.
“I tend to think that I would have seen signs of that side of Sean’s personality if that was his intent,” Martinez said. “I think he probably ran into some bad luck and couldn’t recover from it. I’m sure he really feels horrible about this.”
A Denver investment adviser who asked not to be identified said Mueller’s Cherry Hills mansion and expensive, S-class Mercedes-Benz were part of an image he cultivated to attract well-heeled investors.
“Driving expensive cars is part of his marketing,” the adviser said. “He comes across as very smart, very calm. I don’t think he had an intent to deceive. He just had some trades that went against him.”
Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph said Tuesday that Mueller illegally operated his hedge fund for years without a state or federal license.
“He was operating as an unlicensed investment adviser in violation of securities laws,” Joseph said.
If any of Mueller’s investors had checked with state and federal regulators, they would have been told his business violated securities laws, Joseph said.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
