Major players in Richmond-area real estate investment venture

Here are the major players in the real estate investment venture that promised high returns:

• Donald C. Lacey, a former Henrico County police officer, ran 33 limited liability companies that bought and renovated fixer-uppers using investors' money.

His wife, Tamara, filed for federal bankruptcy liquidation in May, putting a hold on lawsuits and creditors' actions against her husband's businesses.

He did not file for bankruptcy. However, she personally guaranteed promissory notes on his businesses. The filing also allows for a discharge of debt.

She listed assets of $4.2 million and debts of $47.2 million, including $61,276.81 owed to the Internal Revenue Service and $17.3 million to Old Dominion Financial Service Inc., the financing arm for the real estate investment business owned by David A. Silver.

The Laceys have monthly expenses of $18,074, including mortgages of $6,800 and a boat payment of nearly $600 a month, and monthly net income of $8,000.

The filing shows her monthly income is $3,000 and her husband's is $5,000. However, she has no income for this year. She is reinstating her real estate license and has three bids for decorating jobs.

The Laceys three children, ages 10, 16 and 18.

At a June 2 creditors' hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Bruce Robertson, the trustee, talked about the couple's elaborate lifestyle. "You have indicated you want to continue that lifestyle, but I don't see the income to support it."

The Laceys jointly own five properties, including two vacation homes, ranging in value from $390,000 to $1.5 million, according to the petition.

Three homes are for sale: one is listed for $1.95 million, another for $399,950, both near the Rappahannock River in Middlesex County; and a house in Hanover County for $355,950.

They have a boat -- a 2006 Pro-line 26-foot Super Sport valued at $37,000 -- three dogs and one white rat, among other assets. Her lawyer, Lawrence H. Glanzer of Norfolk, said the rat was listed in the petition in the interest of full disclosure.

Mrs. Lacey's intention, according to the bankruptcy petition, is to surrender all the properties except for a house in Hanover valued at $1.4 million, a vacation house at Wintergreen valued at $450,000, the boat and a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali XL valued at $29,946.

• David A. Silver ran Old Dominion Financial Service Inc., the financing arm for the real estate investment business.

He and his wife, Pamela, bought a house in Mount Hermon Farms east of Ashland for $810,000 in April. The house was built by Donald Lacey, who was Silver's partner in the investment venture.

The Silvers' house is on the market, and both are looking for work, said Jeffrey Geiger, Silver's attorney.

"They cannot afford it, and they are not working, and they need to find jobs," he said.