Distribution of Hillblom estate hits a snag • Court issues TRO after journalist lays claim to $150 million fortune

A New York-based journalist wants his share from the multi-million dollar estate of the late business tycoon Larry L. Hillblom after he sought an injunction yesterday from the U.S. District Court on Saipan.

Myron A. Farber, a freelance writer who wrote an article about the fortune of the DHL founder published in the Vanity Fair magazine and once a co-producer of NBC Dateline, is demanding $600,000 as payment for a bonus fee promised by one of the heirs.

In a complaint filed with the federal court yesterday, he said the money is part of the agreement entered into with the lead counsel for Junior Larry Hillbroom and endorsed by his guardians Naoko and Marciano Imeong.

The three, along with lawyer David Lujan from Guam and Keith Waibel, a trustee for the Junior Larry Hillbroom Trust, were named defendants to the case which came just a day before the CNMI court distributes to qualified heirs some $150 million still remaining in the Hillblom estate.

Judge Alex R. Munson granted Mr. Farber’s appeal by issuing a temporary restraining order to prevent them from stashing outside the CNMI the money they anticipate to receive from the settlement. He set a hearing for the injunction on April 14 to allow both parties to argue on the merits of the suit.

Junior Larry’s share of the estate have been transferred to an account in Cook Islands to shield it from his creditors, such as Mr. Farber, and where they will be left with no legal means to seek payment.

The TRO, issued on the same day the case was filed, requires the defendants and the Bank of Saipan, executor of the estate, to preserve the status quo on the $600,000 in dispute while the injunction against fraudulent transfer of the money is pending in the court.

Judge Munson’s order stemmed from a lawsuit charging the defendants of breach of contract, among other things, on the agreement that reportedly took place in September 1998.

The deal with Mr. Lujan included payment of final bonus fee of “millions” if Junior Larry’s claims were successfully resolved, and that the Imeong couple had agreed to make up the $400,000 difference when the amount fell short, according to court papers submitted by
Mr. Farber’s lawyer on Saipan, Bruce Jorgensen.
The complaint maintained the money is compensation for extensive work and efforts between July 1996 and November 1997, during which Mr. Farber helped prove and settle Junior Larry’s claims as well as services rendered after reaching a settlement.

Services rendered

The plaintiff’s services included the gathering and evaluation of evidence, substantial assistance in obtaining DNA evidence as well as assisting in the retention of and consultation with legal and scientific experts in such areas as DNA testing and forensic anthropology.

In fact, the suit claimed, his services led to a “secret” DNA which confirmed Mr. Hillblom’s paternity as to Junior Larry, thus becoming a critical factor in the negotiation of his claims in 1997.

Mr. Farber became involved in the litigation to collect money from Mr. Hillblom’s estate after he was approached by Mr. Lujan on Saipan to assist him in attempting to reach a settlement.

This took place immediately after his investigation conducted between March to July 1996 on the situation created after the death of Mr. Hillblom, who died in plane crash a year before in the waters off Saipan. His body was never found.

The probe was part of his assignment for Vanity Fair, and for a segment for Dateline NBC that he co-produced, according to court papers.

Mr. Farber began his services for Junior Larry in August 1996 and has since received payment for time and labor costs of more than $460,000 over a three-year period, ending in November 1999.

But he said that Mr. Lujan, whom he claimed considered the million-dollar bonus fee as “undisclosed side of the agreement,” has refused in the past few months to discuss with him regarding payment of that money.

The lawyer, Mr. Farber said, was even demanding payment of the $15,000 loan that he said should be deducted from the next payment of $200,000 for his services.

Since then, Mr. Lujan or any of the defendants has not talked to him about the bonus, nor a book deal on Mr. Hillblom that he said they wanted him to write.