Ex-Fund Director Must Repay $2 Million Spent on Wine, Court Says

An Illinois businessman must return nearly $2 million in Ponzi scheme proceeds that were used to purchase expensive wines after the Seventh Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of bankruptcy creditors.

Steven Stevanovich was the director of Capital Strategies, an offshore investment fund. A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois found in September 2021 Stevanovich embezzled $1.9 million of Capital Strategies’ money to buy wine for his personal use.

The ruling was affirmed Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The appeals court said the district court didn’t …