A prominent investor who has worked with several prominent Democrats has been arrested on a warrant in Las Vegas.
Daniel Burrell, 45, was handcuffed late Friday morning in Massachusetts, hours after one of the many mansions he owns sold at auction Thursday for $12,525,000.
The four-bedroom home is located on Nantucket Island, the same place where Burrell was arrested for allegedly writing a fake check for $1.5 million to a casino. He also reportedly owns two other properties there.
Burrell was a senior adviser to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign, but was declared a fugitive after he reportedly defaulted on more than $75 million in bank loans he used to pay off a divorce, buy a yacht and purchase homes.
Among them was the recently sold property. A day later, Burrell was in handcuffs and ankle shackles in Nantucket County Courthouse, on the phone with family members, asking for $10,000 bail. The Yale-educated financier was unable to post bail at the time of writing.
Daniel Burrell, 45, was handcuffed late Friday morning in Massachusetts after he wrote a fake check to a Las Vegas casino for $1.5 million
His arrest came hours after one of the many mansions he owns was seized at auction on Thursday and sold for $12,525,000
“I understand he was arrested today on a warrant out of Nevada where he owes money, presumably on these casino markers, to a casino in Las Vegas,” Andrew Fritz, Burrell’s Nevada attorney, told Nantucket County Judge James M. Sullivan after the arrest.
The lawyer, who appeared in court remotely, said the case had been assigned to Las Vegas District Court and revealed how he will represent Burrell at a hearing scheduled before a judge later this week.
He added that before his arrest on Friday, he had asked the court to quash the warrant and offered a “good faith payment to get things moving.”
According to Fritz, the court did not reject the offer, which he said was provisionally set at $50,000.
Instead, the officials reiterated that they would not lift the order until they received “a good, safe payment of some kind.” That payment never materialized, as a slew of banks filed a lawsuit against the investor who once ran a company linked to Hunter Biden.
His bail was thus set at $10,000, prompting Fritz to ask Sullivan if he could pay his bail by check instead of cash, since “it’s ten past four and the banks . . . [being] “Closed,” he said.
Sullivan said that could be done, but that the court would have to detain Burrell until the check was brought to the court and verified.
He did this in the expectation that Burrell, who was thought to be worth millions, would ‘post it’.
Burrell is seen here with his ex-wife Nikola at a 2023 event in Aspen, where he also owns several properties. The couple split in the months that followed, before Burrell was declared a fugitive after he reportedly defaulted on more than $75 million in bank loans he used to pay off the divorce
“Then we’ll continue the case for another 60 days,” Sullivan said.
Despite Burrell claiming he could post bail, he failed to secure the money.
He was therefore held overnight at the Nantucket police station, after which he was asked to return to Nevada within 60 days to serve the sentence there.
Sullivan offered this in lieu of extradition, ahead of a hearing scheduled for Nov. 18 where the status of Burrell’s legal affairs — in Nevada only — will be discussed.
Meanwhile, the man Kerry once described as “an incredible mentor” also has businesses — and homes — in several other states,
This includes a complaint filed by First Western Trust Bank in November 2023, which alleges Burrell owes them approximately $56 million in commercial and construction loans that he has failed to repay.
Months later, in April 2024, a new case arose against Burrell, this time brought by Alpine Bank.
It was alleged that he still owed $18 million on an $18.5 million loan taken out in 2021, prompting another online auction of one of Burrell’s properties in Aspen, Colorado, after he used it as collateral for the $18.5 million loan.
In April 2024, another case came to light against Burrell, this time brought by Alpine Bank. It was alleged that he owed $18 million on an $18.5 million loan made in 2021 – leading to another foreclosure auction for one of Burrell’s Aspen properties (seen here) after he put it up as collateral
Alpine made the only bid of $24.6 million, as Bank of America also filed a lawsuit against Burrell over unpaid loans.
The lawsuit alleges the former member of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s administration owes them just under $4.5 million. Photos from the Nantucket Current show him being led away in handcuffs on Friday.
From 2000 to 2001, he served on Clinton’s Domestic Policy Council, before becoming a senior adviser to John Kerry during his 2002 Senate re-election and his 2004 presidential campaign against George W. Bush.
Burrell then advised on several congressional and state elections across the country before rising to partner at Rosemont Capital, a New York-based investment firm
He then served as CEO of Rosemont Realty, a Santa Fe-based commercial real estate company that is a spin-off from the New York company.
From 2009 to 2013, he oversaw the construction of 173 office buildings in 25 states, raising $575 million.
The company had ties to Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s eldest son, who served on Rosemont’s advisory board.
He served on Bill Clinton’s Domestic Policy Council from 2000-2001, before becoming a senior adviser to John Kerry in his 2002 Senate re-election and failed presidential campaign. The pair are pictured together at a black-tie event in 2013
In the years that followed, Burrell also founded several for-profit osteopathic medical schools throughout Idaho, New Mexico, and Florida.
He also founded The Burrell Group, which, according to LinkedIn, “is a portfolio of individual, privately held companies focused on drug discovery, behavioral sciences, financial services, commercial and residential real estate… in partnership with public and private universities, security, and life support systems.”
Burrell, who has five children, is not only said to have used money he obtained under false pretenses for his divorce, but he has also purchased several mansions, many of which are being used as collateral and are at risk of repossession.
They can be found in Colorado, Massachusetts, Florida and New Mexico and prices run into the millions.
Two of his children from his first marriage to jewelry magnate Katherine Jetter are currently in college, while his third child with Jetter started school this year.
He also has two children with Nikola, one of whom attends boarding school in Boston, and the other who lives at home with his mother.
At the time of writing, Burrell, who also worked for The Huffington Post, is no longer considered a fugitive and continues to pursue his cases.