United States v. Thomas Spiegel

The Facts

Defendant Thomas Spiegel was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Columbia Savings and Loan, a thrift institution that— like so many others — collapsed in the twilight of the 1980’s. Having discovered what it believed were violations of various statutes and regulations in Spiegel’s conduct at Columbia, the Office of Thrift Supervision starts ed an administrative proceeding pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 1818 , seeking to establish that some of Mr. Spiegel’s not inconsiderable personal assets in fact belong to Columbia and its depositors. As part of that administrative proceeding, OTS issued restraining orders to ensure that Spiegel’s assets would not be dissipated or hidden. Spiegel may use his assets “to pay ordinary and reasonable living expenses,” but all expenses greater than $5,000 require approval of the OTS.

The OTS’s authority to issue the freeze order comes from 12 U.S.C. § 1818 (e). That section also provides a mechanism for judicial review: A party aggrieved by such an order may ask the proper district court to modify or limit it. In 1990, Spiegel brought such an action in the Central District of California, and on appeal we upheld the OTS’s order. Spiegel…