Mark Walter's nonprofit now funded by firm in federal probe

Investing.com -- Mark Walter's education-focused nonprofit, Academy Group, now receives substantially all of its funding from Amistad Financial Group, a company that federal prosecutors are examining as part of a probe into Walter's business empire, according to people familiar with the matter.

Academy Group was established in 2013 with a $160 million commitment from Walter to help Chicago credit investment firm CFI Partners comply with Dodd-Frank regulations. CFI Partners, founded by former First Chicago employees including some who worked alongside Walter more than 30 years ago, used the arrangement to issue collateralized loan obligations.

CFI Partners, which manages $28 billion in assets, became a subsidiary of Amistad Financial Group in 2023, regulatory filings show. Earlier this year, Academy Group executives were informed that Amistad would provide substantially all of the nonprofit's future funding, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity speaking to Bloomberg/

Federal prosecutors are investigating Amistad as one of several intermediaries in a probe examining how Walter's insurance companies loaned more than $20 billion to other parts of his empire without disclosing the transactions to regulators as required for affiliated investments.

Amistad is chaired by Don Thompson, former chief executive officer of McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD). Thompson also runs Cleveland Avenue, which Academy Group lists on its website as one of its portfolio companies. In recent years, Amistad has acquired several insurers previously owned by Walter's sports partners, including EquiTrust Life Insurance from Earvin "Magic" Johnson and three insurers owned by Robert Patton Jr., a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers with Walter.

Neither Walter nor his holding company, TWG Global, has been accused of wrongdoing. The lending under scrutiny is not related to Academy Group.

On Sept. 20, the Walter family said in a statement that its philanthropic strategy remains unchanged with existing financial commitments intact. The family intends to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars more to causes and institutions.

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