Businessman accused of taking $100M from special needs trust funds violates judge’s court order

Special needs trust founder loses control of companies

Aaron Mesmer reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Pinellas County businessman accused of taking $100 million from the trust funds of disabled clients is in hot water again after a judge said he violated a court order, before issuing another one barring him from his own company.

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U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Roberta Colton issued an order telling Leo Govoni to allow court-appointed restructuring officers into his Clearwater office. Colton wrote, beginning Thursday, the officers must be given "unfettered access" to Govoni office, which shares space with Big Storm Brewing, a company that until recently was owned by Govoni's son.

The judge also wrote that the officers can "take control of the companies’ physical space and be permitted to change the locks on all of the entities’ real property, wherever located, including the buildings located at 12707 49th St. N."

The order also ordered Govoni to stay away from his business.

This comes after Govoni was found to be in violation of a previous order that should have given the court-appointed officers control of several of his companies, including Big Storm, of which Govoni was listed as a financial backer.

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According to legal filings, the bankruptcy officers attempted to access the building on Monday but were locked out and not permitted to enter.

What they're saying:

Tampa defense attorney Anthony Rickman, who's not involved in this case, explained the most recent ruling.

"These [bankruptcy officers] own the business. They have full rights and responsibilities for this business and Govoni has nothing to do with it anymore," Rickman said. "[Govoni] is no longer allowed to have any role, right or responsibilities to his own business and this was previously ordered, and he violated that court order. The judge has made it clear in the court filings that he is prohibited from doing anything in his own businesses. He is banned from his own businesses and if he violates this court order now, he faces the sanctions of being held in contempt of court."

The backstory:

This case began in February 2024, when the Center for Special Needs Trust, which Govoni founded, filed for bankruptcy and accused him of taking $100 million over 11 years, not repaying the funds and funneling the money into another business he owns, Boston Finance Group. Court documents show more than 1,500 accounts of disabled clients were partially or fully drained.

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Earlier this year, a judge found Govoni liable to $122 million in missing funds, plus interest.

The court-appointed trustee now supervising the accounts that used to be part of the Center for Special Needs Trust has been trying to determine how to recoup as much money as possible, potentially through the sale of Govoni's assets, which include several businesses.

Big Storm Brewing, meanwhile, has closed several of its operations, but its tap room in Clearwater remains open for now.

"What they're looking now in the tap room is, if that is profitable, if they're going to keep it open so that they can have enough profits to raise enough money to pay back some of these individuals who lost their money, lost everything through this trust, or if they should just sell it and then take the money from the sale and give it back," Rickman explained.

The other side:

Until recently, Big Storm was owned by Govoni's son, L.J. Govoni, who previously maintained his business wasn't involved in the allegations facing his father. L.J. Govoni did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

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In court, the elder Govoni has been accused of using money from the Center in Big Storm.

Govoni has not been charged with a crime and has previously denied wrongdoing. Neither he nor his attorney responded to a request for comment on Thursday.

The FBI, IRS and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are all investigating Govoni, as is the Florida Attorney General's office in a different case.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through court documents and previous FOX 13 News reporting.

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