TMI Investors to Recoup Some Losses

Educators who lost their retirement savings in the 1994 collapse of Teachers Management & Investment Corp. will get back about 23 cents on the dollar, a court-appointed receiver said. Dennis B. Schmucker of San Diego said teachers and administrators who had invested $280 million in real estate partnerships put together by TMI probably will receive only about $65 million back from settlements and property sales. Unfortunately for 20,000 teachers statewide, Schmucker said, “the biggest chunk of the loss was caused by the decline in the real estate market,� not the alleged wrongdoing of TMI and its owners, auditors, lawyers and bankers. An Orange County judge tentatively approved the $14-million settlement with TMI’s auditor, KPMG Peat Marwick accounting firm, and banker, Comerica Bank-California. KPMG agreed to pay nearly $10 million and Comerica agreed to pay more than $4 million to end litigation stemming from TMI’s collapse.