A Sacramento businessman who asked the FBI to investigate his ex-wife ended up with the Feds investigating him. Steven K. Zinnel, now 50, and his wife split in 1999. They had two sons. Zinnel, a successful Gold River businessman declared bankruptcy during the proceedings. However, his bankruptcy, which was finalized in 2005 was fake. He had put money in accounts with other people’s names on it and hid assets. As the case proceeded through family court, he continued to hide assets and disguised his wealth so he could pay less in child support.
Zinnel was in the clear until he asked the FBI to investigate his ex-wife, Michele, for trying to get illegal access to his private health insurance information. However, when the authorities heard her side of the story, they were more interested in Zinnel’s bankruptcy than her alleged offense.
The president of the electric substations company that was paying Zinnel off the books agreed to cooperate with the Feds and participated in taped interviews with undercover agents. Far from being bankrupt, Zinnel was found to be worth several million dollars. He was convicted on 15 counts of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. This week he was ordered to forfeit $2.8 million of his assets, pay a half million dollar fine and serve more than 17 years in prison.
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