Got a million? Bid on Vaughan's mansion

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - You can find a steal of a deal on a house owned by accused Ponzi schemer Doug Vaughan. To get in on it, though, you'll need than a million dollars in your pocket.

The house, which has been on the market since last summer, is now going up for auction. It's four bedrooms, seven baths and nearly 6,900 square feet.

The house comes with two lions guarding the entrance, a poolside cabana and Vaughan's company logo everywhere.

Investigators say he built this home in 2007 and bought lavish furnishing for it after bilking hundreds of investors out of more than $70 million.

Vaughan's empire crumbled early in 2010 when he declared personal and business bankruptcy. Last month a federal grand jury indicted him on fraud charges alleging he ran a real-estate swindle paying investors dividends from other investors' money while pocketing the rest.

He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

With only three written offers, Realtors and the government-appointed trustee overseeing Vaughan's bankruptcy estate thought auctioning off the house would be the best way to unload it and recoup some money.

"It's easier to do an auction and have everybody who wants the house sitting in the same room hearing what the bids are," Associate Broker Kelly Hardison of Coldwell Banker Legacy, the agency selling the home.

"It's the most expeditious and it has the best chance of getting the highest amount of money for the creditors," added her partner, Associate Broker Bryan Lee.

This hasn't been an easy sale. The house that sits on the 3rd green of the Tanoan Country Club first went on the market last June for $2.5 million. Since then the price has dropped. Today, it's listed for $1.8 million. The Realtors hope to get that price at auction.

"Because there's still a mortgage on it, and the mortgage has to be paid off, we really have to start at a million-four, which is what the action is going to start at," Hardison said.

The money from the sale will go to administrative costs first, and then the mortgage will be paid. What little money, if any is left, will then reimburse investors who lost millions.

The home does not include all the pricey items inside, which Realtors estimate are worth more than a million bucks. It's still unclear if Vaughan will be able to keep the furnishings or if they will be auctioned off as well.

Anyone who is interested in the house--and can show financial proof they can afford it--can contact Hardison at (505) 259-8131 or Lee at (505) 259-8070. The home also is on their New Mexico Home Source website.

The auction will be held in Albuquerque on Tuesday.