Yesterday's verdict would appear to end the governmant's criminal case
against him, but De Lorean is still fighting claims by creditors, including
the British government.
London and other creditors have frozen about $20 million of De Lorean's
assets in bankruptcy proceedings in Detroit, which are expected to resume
Jan. 21.
As in the Los Angeles trial, De Lorean was found innocent without taking the
stand in his own defense.
In the 10-week trial, the government presented a stream of former De Lorean
associates from the United States and Europe. The government hoped to support
its contention that De Lorean masterminded an elaborate scheme to syphon
investors' money under the guise of a purported loan that the prosecution said
was a fraud.
De Lorean's defense argued that the $8.5 million in question was recieved
as part of a legitimate loan. Weitzman said the loan came from Colin Chapman,
the deceased founder of the British auto group Lotus, which did engineering on
the De Lorean car.
Weitzman told jurors in his closing argument eight days ago that the
government has persecuted his client.
Had he been convicted on all counts, De Lorean would have faced maximum
sentences of up to 87 years in prison and fines of up to $82,000.
