'There's a whole lot of money somewhere'

Wayne Bumgarner is one of about 500 people who has invested money with J.V. Huffman Jr. and his company, Biltmore Financial Group Inc., since 1991.

As a receiver appointed by the court continues to search for and compile a list of Huffman's assets, Bumgarner and others don't think they've found it all.

"I think there might be a third of what's been recovered," he said. "During his 17 years, there's been millions of dollars collected that he intends to use years from now. There's a lot of money somewhere."

Huffman, 45, is accused of lying to neighbors, family and friends, telling them he bought and sold securities as he took millions of dollars from them to pay for his lavish lifestyle in a Ponzi scheme. About 500 people invested $25 million with Huffman. He was arrested on Nov. 7. He is in jail under a $1 million secured bond, charged with four felony counts of securities fraud and four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense.

A preliminary report issued Monday by a court-appointed receiver lists the assets of Huffman at more than $4 million so far. A supplement to the report will be added on or before March 31. The preliminary report includes Huffman's cars, properties in multiple states, jewelry, artwork, yard equipment and cash.

The preliminary report lists Huffman owning 10 vehicles, including a 2008 Aston Martin, a 1939 Cadillac and a 2007 motor home insured for $825,000. It also includes 11 properties owned by Huffman, two leaseholds and a timeshare in Orlando, Fla.

Linda Elliott, a longtime friend of the Huffman family and an investor, said she was shocked when she heard what the receiver has documented thus far.

"I knew they were doing well, but I had no idea they had this much," she said.

Elliott said she's ridden with Gilda (Huffman's wife) in her SUV a few times, but said she didn't know the Huffmans owned 10 vehicles. She also didn't know Gilda owned a lot of jewelry. Elliott said Gilda typically dressed like most people — nothing showy or ostentatious, and she didn't recall seeing Gilda wear jewelry that stood out.

However, looking at the receiver's report was upsetting to her.

"I'm not feeling any real anger toward him, just hurt from the betrayal," Elliott said. "The idea of the betrayal has made me wonder about everyone else."

Richard Porter, another investor as well as a contractor who worked on Huffman's lavish home in Claremont, said he's waiting for more items to be documented by the receiver. As someone who had intimate access to Huffman's home, Porter knows of several items that will fetch a good price when it comes time to sell them.

"I haven't seen the items from the 'I Love Lucy' room or any of his memorabilia (mentioned)," he said.

Porter also suspects Huffman purchased land in family members' names to shield himself.

"He knew it was coming to an end for months," Porter said. "There's a whole lot more going on out there that we still haven't found."

Meanwhile, Porter and his business are still suffering the consequences of Huffman's actions. In addition to losing the money he invested with Huffman, Porter said he has been unable to get equipment out of Huffman's home that he needs for other heating and air conditioning jobs.

"This has really affected our businesses, because we can't get our materials out of the house and J.V. owes our business money," Porter said. "I've bought things three different times, spending about $24,000 buying duplicate materials of what's sitting over at J.V.'s home, and I can't get in to get them."