Fugitive Aspen Investor Arrested On Nantucket After His Island Estate Sold At Foreclosure Auction

Fugitive Aspen investor Daniel Burrell was arrested on Nantucket late Friday morning on a warrant out of Las Vegas, where he is alleged to have written a bad check to a casino for $1.5 million, just one day after his island mansion was sold at a foreclosure auction. 

Wanted by law enforcement authorities in Colorado and Nevada, the law finally caught up with the Yale-educated businessman on Nantucket.

Burrell previously had warrants out for his arrest in Pitkin County Colorado for allegedly defaulting on over $75 million in bank loans he used to pay off divorce payments, buy a yacht, and purchase luxury homes. One of those homes was located at 3 Brewster Road on Nantucket, a property that was sold at a foreclosure auction on Thursday for $12,525,000.

A day later, Burrell was in handcuffs and ankle shackles in Nantucket District Court, speaking on the phone with relatives and asking them to bring a $10,000 check to the Town & County Building on Broad Street so he could make bail.

According to Pitkin County Colorado Court records, Burrell was scheduled for a court hearing earlier this year that was initiated by Equilibrium Multi Strategy Fund, which was seeking to recover $8.8 million from Burrell that was owed to them by two separate limited liability companies he controls. After failing to appear, a bench warrant was filed by Judge John Neiley on May 13, and weeks later Burrell's Aspen mansion was sold during an online foreclosure auction.

Burrell, who previously owned a Zeelander yacht that was often spotted Nantucket Harbor, is a friend of and served as senior advisor to former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry during his presidential campaign in 2004. He once described Kerry as "an incredible mentor." Burrell also served in former US President Bill Clinton's administration as a member of its Domestic Policy Council from 2000-2001. 

Burrell also founded The Burrell Group, LLC which according to the company’s LinkedIn page, is “a portfolio of individual privately held companies that focuses on medication education, behavioral sciences, financial services, commercial and residential real estate, construction, aviation, food service programs in partnership with public and private universities, security and life safety systems, as well as medical technology and natural resources.”

Burrell was formerly the CEO of Rosemont Realty from 2009-2013, a Santa Fe-based commercial real estate firm that oversaw 173 office buildings in 25 states. Burrell raised $575 million to expand the firm in 2013 according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. The firm had ties to President Joe Biden’s first son Hunter Biden, who served on Rosemont's advisory board - and in an October 2022 article in the New York Post. 

Burrell also founded several for-profit osteopathic medical schools including locations at Idaho College, as well as in New Mexico and Florida. 

Colorado court officials told the Current earlier this week that Burrell had his warrant canceled in late July. However, a warrant out of Las Vegas remained open and Burrell was arrested by island police and arraigned Friday in Nantucket District Court on a charge of being a fugitive from justice.

Andrew Fritz, Burrell's Nevada attorney, joined the session via phone and told Nantucket Judge James M. Sullivan that the warrant out of Las Vegas was for a bad check that was allegedly written out to a casino. He disclosed that Burrell owes approximately $1.5 million in that case.

"My understanding is he was picked up today on an arrest warrant out of Nevada where he is owing money, presumably on these casino markers, to a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada," Fritz said.

Fritz said the case has been assigned to Las Vegas Justice Court, and that he will be representing Burrell on either Monday or Tuesday in front of a judge. He said prior to Friday's arrest, he requested the court recall this warrant, but they said they needed a "Good faith payment to get things moving" and that he suggested $50,000. He said the court didn't say no to the offer, but simply replied by reiterating they wouldn't recall the warrant until they had a "good, safe payment of some sort."

Burrell's bail was set at $10,000. He asked Sullivan if he could post his bail by check rather than cash since "it is 10 past four and the banks are closed." Sullivan said they would accept the check, but the court would hold Burrell until the check was brought to the courthouse, received, and verified.

"I'm going to set a bail of $10,000 with the anticipation that Mr. Burrell is going to post that and then we'll continue the case out for 60 days," Sullivan said. "That should give Mr. Burrell and his attorney enough time to square things away with Nevada in some fashion."

Despite claiming he could post the set bail, Burrell was unable to provide the court with the money and was held overnight at the Nantucket Police Department. The court is giving him 60 days to return to Nevada on his own rather than extradite him. He had a 60-day date set on this case, which is Monday, November 18, when the status of his legal matters in Nevada will be reviewed.

Burrell has been facing lawsuits from several banks over the past two years, including First Western Trust Bank, which filed a complaint in November of 2023 alleging that Burrell owes more than $50 million in business and construction loans.

Just months later in April 2024, Burrell was sued by Alpine Bank, which alleged that he owed $18 million on an $18.5 million loan that was issued in 2021 – according to the Daily Mail. An online foreclosure auction was held for one of Burrell's Aspen, Colorado estates after he pledged it as collateral against the $18.5 million loan. Alpine Bank made the only bid at $24.6 million.

Bank of America also filed a lawsuit against him for just under $4.5 million.

In a countersuit against First Western Bank, Burrell claimed that he shouldn’t have to pay the bank back because it was aware he would be using the money for personal expenses. He also claimed that the bank was violating federal lending laws, invading his privacy with the lawsuits, and interfering with the sale of his properties as they sought to foreclose on them and sell them to recoup the money they claimed he owed.

Prior to Friday's arrest, Burrell has found himself in the midst of other legal issues on Nantucket over the summer ranging from a petty theft charge to a local monetary dispute with a small business property manager on the island.

Burrell had a June 17 charge of shoplifting by asportation over $250 dismissed prior to arraignment in Nantucket District Court earlier this month on September 9. The court documents were sealed after the case was dismissed, so it is unclear why the case was disposed of before an arraignment. Normally in instances such as this one, the reason is because the individual either returned the stolen items or repaid the victim of the incident.

Burrell was originally scheduled to appear in Nantucket District Court on the shoplifting charge for an arraignment on July 29 but failed to appear for that session - prompting Sullivan to issue a straight warrant. That warrant was recalled on September 6 and then three days later, the charge was disposed of before his arraignment, which means it will not appear on his record.

Earlier this summer, Burrell had a mechanic's lien placed on his 3 Brewster Road home for withholding over $26,000 from an island contractor for work done on the property.

According to land records, the $26,234.69 mechanic's lien was placed on his property on July 17 by Max Perkins, the owner of Grey Lady Property Management, for services performed on the property that have allegedly gone unpaid. Perkins declined to provide the Current with comment on the situation but confirmed he has not been paid as of September 22, 2024.

Burrell’s Brewster Road property is a .92-acre lot he purchased in 2017 for $10.5 million under the business entity 3 Brewster Road LLC. The home features two buildings - a main home and a guesthouse - covering 7,855 square feet.

The foreclosure auction took place on September 19 at 1 p.m. and lasted approximately 20-30 minutes. The winner of the bid was a client of Fisher Real Estate principal broker Brian Sullivan. The Current reached out to Sullivan Friday afternoon, and he respectfully declined to comment on the transaction and the buyer's identity.

The 6,655-square-foot single-family home was built in 2015 and has 10 rooms, four bedrooms, and four and one-half bathrooms according to the auction details.

The Current reached out to Burrell via text, phone call, and email seeking comment. We have not yet received a reply.

Burrell’s financial issues in court have been covered by numerous media outlets including the Daily Mail, Denver Post, Aspen Daily News, and New York Post.