Raimondo wants release of 38 Studios documents

GOV. GINA M. Raimondo will petition the R.I. Superior Court next week to release grand jury documents related to 38 Studios LLC.
GOV. GINA M. Raimondo will petition the R.I. Superior Court next week to release grand jury documents related to 38 Studios LLC.

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo will petition the R.I. Superior Court next week to release grand jury documents related to 38 Studios LLC.

The announcement was made on Friday in the wake of Judge Michael A. Silverstein’s approval of the final settlement agreement related to the case. The state last week settled with its former financial adviser, Hilltop Securities Inc. (formerly First Southwest Co.), for $16 million.

“Rhode Islanders were hurt by 38 Studios. I’ve fought hard to recover as much taxpayer money as possible and am pleased that Judge Silverstein has approved our last settlement,” Raimondo said in a statement. “Now that the civil case and criminal case is closed, we should make all the documents available to the public and give the people of our state closure.”

The civil suit, brought by former Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, coincided with a R.I. State Police criminal investigation. The investigation ended last year with no criminal charges, and Col. Ann Assumpico has announced all non-grand jury documents will be released after a final review.

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“I agree with Governor Raimondo’s efforts to support full transparency in the 38 Studios case,” Assumpico said in a statement.

The investigations and lawsuits stem from a failed investment made by the state into the now-defunct videogame company 38 Studios. State officials in 2010 floated $75 million in taxpayer-backed bonds, and invested the money into the then-startup. The company, owned by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, went bankrupt in 2012, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook to pay back the bonds.

The state, company executives, underwriters and others involved in the failed investment have since been tied up in various investigations and litigation.

The most recent settlement brings the total amount of money recovered by the state to about $61 million, or $49.7 million net fees, the latter of which is about 56.5 percent of the $88 million the state estimates it lost.

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