US prosecutors focus on four businesses tied to billionaire Mark Walter, WSJ reports

U.S. federal prosecutors are currently investigating four businesses that are believed to be linked to billionaire Mark Walter, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also involved in the probe, which centers around the possibility of fraud committed by Walter or his businesses. The alleged fraud stems from the concealment of financial connections while borrowing billions of dollars from insurers that Walter controls.

The probe reportedly indicates that the money borrowed from these insurers passed through entities controlled by the four businesses before being used to fund other businesses tied to Walter. However, it is important to note that Walter and his businesses have not been formally accused of any criminal activities.

Mark Walter serves as the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, which includes Guggenheim Securities, the firm's brokerage, and Guggenheim Investments, its money manager. According to Bloomberg News, Walter had previously offered to pledge his equity stake in Guggenheim Partners as part of a broader attempt to raise billions of dollars to rectify the loans on the balance sheet of his insurance companies.

Furthermore, Walter struck a deal to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for a record $12.5 billion, as reported by Reuters last week. This sale occurred just over a year after Walter had acquired a majority stake in the NBA team.