Rayburn's payment exposed alleged scam

February 13, 2002

Rayburn's payment exposed alleged scam

After Andrew Rayburn sold his family firm a few years ago, he entrusted his fortune to Frank Gruttadauria, according to a published report.

Rayburn, the former president of Flexalloy Inc. in Streetsboro, Ohio, and the owner of the Hagerstown Suns baseball team, ended up being among about 25 investors who believe they lost up to $300 million in investments and gains they thought they had, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Saturday.

The losses came to light when Rayburn was to make a payment of $12.5 million, the last payment owed his ex-wife to end their divorce proceedings, The Plain Dealer reported. The settlement of his 1997 divorce laid out a schedule for paying his wife $15 million, with the $12.5 million balloon payment due in October, the newspaper reported.

In an interview last week with The Plain Dealer, Rayburn declined to discuss his overall losses, but acknowledged that the $12.5 million came out of brokerage accounts controlled by Gruttadauria.

Rayburn officially took over ownership of the Suns, a Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the South Atlantic League, on June 1, 2000.

"This is not going to have any effect on the Suns," Hagerstown Suns general manager Kurt Landes said Tuesday. He declined further comment, referring questions to Rayburn.

Rayburn did not respond to e-mail or a call left on voice mail.

Rayburn also owns Big Game Capital, a company based in Chagrin, Ohio, near Cleveland, and the Daytona Cubs, a Class A team in the Florida State League.

Rayburn purchased 100 percent of the Suns through an asset purchase agreement signed Dec. 29, 2000. As part of the agreement, the amount of the sale was confidential.

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