Crave Owner Buys Lake Minnetonka Mansion on Private Island

Finance and Commerce reported late Thursday  that a mansion located on a private island in St. Alban's Bay has been purchased by Kam Talebi—a Minneapolis entrepreneur and owner of the Crave restaurants.

Click here to view photos of the estate.

The mansion was formally owned by Jeffery Wirth, who pleaded guilty last May to conspiring to commit tax fraud. Prior to his conviction, Wirth also owned the Grand Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, the Grand Rios Hotel & Waterpark in Brooklyn Park and the Grand Lodge Hotel & Waterpark of America in Bloomington—as well as nearly 30 other businesses.

Wirth was sentenced last September to 54 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution to the I.R.S. Wirth's ex-wife and former tax preparer were also convicted and sentenced in federal court for their roles in the fraud.

Related posts:

• Wife of Lake Minnetonka Island Owner Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Government
• Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud United States

Wirth spent more than $5 million to purchase the 1.6-acre island and build the mansion, although several components remain largely unfinished. The estate, sold "as is," hit the market last spring, and was listed for about $2 million. Exactly how much Talebi paid for the estate is unclear, but the property is classified as "sold" on the website of Nick Leyendecker—the Wayzata realtor handling the sale. 

The City of Greenwood, where the mansion is located, passed an ordinance in 2011 requiring the property's owner to complete construction after the city received numerous complaints from nearby residents about the property's appearance. Some work was carried out, but the city's requirements went largely unmet. 

The estate includes more than 1,000 feet of shoreline, a two bedroom detached cottage and an 18-car underground garage.

The sale has yet to be finalized with Hennepin County—or at least not entered into electronic records, but the county's estimated value of the property is north of $2.2 million.