Who is Heidi Planck's ex Jim Wayne? LA mom's disappearance linked to workplace secrets
REYNIER VILLAGE, LOS ANGELES: Missing Los Angeles accountant Heidi Planck's former husband Jim Wayne suspects that her disappearance might be linked to some secrets at her workplace, especially since it has emerged now that her boss was involved in a $43 million fraud. Wayne had previously reported her missing and said she appeared 'edgy' and 'angry' when they last met at her son's football game. He also revealed that Planck argued with her current boyfriend before disappearing, giving Wayne the idea that she was "ghosting him".
Heidi Planck was last seen on October 17 in surveillance footage outside her Los Angeles, California, home. It has now emerged that her boss was under federal securities investigation for possible fraud charges. According to local reports, Planck's dog was found wandering alone on the 28th floor of a high-rise building 12 miles away from her home on the day she disappeared. However, she was only reported missing by her ex-husband three days later, when she failed to pick up their son from school.
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Who is Jim Wayne?
Jim Wayne, 63, is reportedly a hairdresser for celebrities in Beverly Hills. He and Heidi were together for four years and stayed married for two years. However, they eventually divorced after the birth of their son. The two had a stark age difference of 24 years.
Wayne and Planck divorced over nine years ago and Heidi has not gotten married since. Their son happens to be her only child, and she had a "relaxed parenting style", as claimed by Wayne. Meanwhile, Wayne also admitted that despite the apparent argument with her, he felt that Heidi's new love interest was a "great man". "He thought she was just making him a ghost. He didn’t know. He lived in San Francisco and she wanted him to get off, so they said they went into discussion, but he couldn’t because he had to work," Wayne revealed.
He further added, “I have no worries about him. He is a great man. I’m certainly not a detective, but he looks like a really great person."
Heidi had secrets at her workplace
Heidi, who worked as an accountant at Camden Capital Partners LLC, might have had information regarding a major fraud her boss was involved in. Wayne shared that federal authorities inquired him about her job, and asked about Jason Sugarman, the managing partner at Heidi's company. In 2019, the SEC charged Sugarman for a fraud scheme where he siphoned $43 million from pension funds. He also defrauded a Native American tribe leaving them $60 million in debt. Sugarman is also well-known as the minority owner of the Los Angeles Football Club and as the son-in-law of Hollywood mogul Peter Guber.
Heidi Planck's designation at Camden was that of a controller which mandated her to oversee the accounting process entirely, including, receivables, payables, payrolls, inventory, and compliance. So, there are chances that she was aware of some secrets of Sugarman at the investment advisory firm. In fact, Heidi had even casually mentioned to her friends and family that "her boss has her name on so much of corporate paperwork". She also shared about her company having some tax filings due.