The Las Vegas Sands Corp. Tuesday settled a six-year-long lawsuit filed by a former top executive of its Macau operations.
A confidential settlement was reached between Sands and Steven Jacobs, who headed the company’s China operations until being ousted in 2010.
The company’s China operation disclosed the settlement in a filing with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
“On or about May 31, 2016, the parties to the proceedings reached a comprehensive and confidential settlement through which Mr. Jacobs dismissed all claims in the Nevada state and federal cases against our controlling shareholder, Las Vegas Sands Corp., the company, our subsidiary Venetian Macau Ltd., and Mr. Sheldon G. Adelson and released all claims as of that date,” the statement said.
Jacobs’ Las Vegas attorney Todd Bice confirmed that the settlement had been reached, but said because the terms of the agreement are confidential, he could not add further details. A Sands spokesman also confirmed the settlement, but had no further comment.
A trial had been scheduled for later this month in Clark County District Court before Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez. A Sands petition to have Gonzalez removed from the case was rejected May 11 by the Nevada Supreme Court, and the case had been rescheduled for trial Sept. 6.
Jacobs sued Sands for wrongful termination in 2010, claiming he was fired “for blowing the whistle on improprieties and placing the interests of shareholders above those of Adelson.”
Adelson countersued and has repeatedly denied Jacobs’ allegations, saying he was acting on his own.
The lawsuit led to Justice Department and SEC investigations into whether Sands officials violated the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against bribing foreign officials.
In April, Sands agreed to pay a $9 million fine to settle SEC claims that the company didn’t properly document payments to a consultant working for the company beginning in 2006. Sands didn’t admit wrongdoing as part of that settlement and said the investigation showed that Jacobs had nothing to do with the SEC probe.
Sheldon Adelson ended his six-year legal fight with the former head of his Macau casinos whose allegations of “outrageous and illegal” demands by the billionaire Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman prompted a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
A confidential settlement was reached between Steven Jacobs and the company, according to a June 1 statement by Sands China Ltd. to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The case had been scheduled for trial this year in Las Vegas after Sands lost its latest petition to the Nevada Supreme Court to have the judge removed.
Jacobs sued in 2010 after he was ousted in a falling out with Adelson. He accused Adelson of directing him to collect evidence on Macau government officials that could be used to “exert leverage” on them to thwart regulation unfavorable to Sands casinos. Adelson has repeatedly denied Jacobs’s allegations and accused him of commissioning the investigation on his own accord.
The lawsuit led the SEC and Justice Department to probe whether Sands violated U.S. laws against bribing foreign officials. In April, Sands agreed to pay $9 million to settle the SEC’s claims it failed to properly document payments to a consultant facilitating business activities in China and Macau. The company didn’t admit wrongdoing as part of the accord.
Good grief, Schroeder. You’re back in the news.
And just when we thought we’d heard the last of the guy.
Fallout from the Adelson family’s December purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its relationship with Connecticut newspaper publisher Michael Schroeder surfaced Tuesday morning in District Court in the bruising wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Sands Macau casino executive Steve Jacobs.
The accusations are getting so ugly I’d suggest Schroeder consider changing his name, but look at all the trouble he got into the last time he tried that.
Under the pseudonym “Edward Clarkin,” Schroeder published a story Dec. 2 in his New Britain Herald newspaper that focused generally on business court but specifically and inaccurately attacked District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in far-away Clark County. The article by our man in Connecticut was larded with arguably plagiarized material and questionable sourcing. It also failed to mention Schroeder was manager of the limited liability company that was purchasing the Review-Journal.
A disgraced Connecticut newspaper owner associated with casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s recent purchase of the Review-Journal has emerged as a figure in a long-running lawsuit that involves allegations that Adelson tolerated organized crime ties at his properties in Macau.
In a deposition Monday, Adelson’s son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, refused to answer any questions about contact with Michael Schroeder, owner of Central Connecticut Communications. Dumont, vice president of finance and strategy for Las Vegas Sands Corp., was being questioned by a lawyer representing Steven Jacobs, a former Sands executive in Macau who alleges he was wrongfully terminated for trying to distance Sands from illegal activities in the Chinese gaming city.
Dumont’s lawyer on Monday blocked questions regarding any discussion his client may have had about the case with Schroeder, who in December was briefly named “manager” of the Review-Journal.
Schroeder’s role in the Adelson family’s RJ purchase is significant because one of his Connecticut newspapers published a long article that was critical of Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, who is presiding over the Jacobs case. The article bore a false name associated with Schroeder.
A group of Queensridge homeowners with some well-known names has filed a lawsuit over plans to build thousands of condominiums and apartments where the neighboring Badlands Golf Club now sits.
The group, which includes businessman Jack Binion and gaming lawyer Frank Schreck, filed the complaint Tuesday in District Court in Clark County against Las Vegas and several companies associated with the golf course.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants “have openly sought to circumvent the requirements of state law as well as the city code” to deprive interested parties of notice and an opportunity to be heard.
“This conduct is just part of an overarching campaign to interfere with the legal rights of the homeowners — adjoining property owners in the master-planned development commonly known as Queensridge,” the document alleges.
Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic could not be reached for comment Thursday.
EHB Cos., which developed high-end retail center Tivoli Village, confirmed in September that it had purchased the Badlands Golf Course in the west Las Vegas Valley. The course is managed by Par 4 Golf Management Inc., the company that closed the controversial sale of Silverstone Golf Club around that time.
