Philip Breen
Real Name: Philip J. Breen
Aliases: None known
Wanted For: Embezzlement and Fraud
Missing Since: January 8, 1990
Case
Details: Philip and Kathleen Breen were married in Detroit, Michigan, in spring 1988. He bought expensive items for her; he claimed that he could afford them due to his investments in the stock market. He was the president of a successful Detroit mortgage company. His position gave him the authority to purchase mortgages for the company to service.
Philip was known to be generous. When his friend Leonard Woolf's business fell on hard times, he loaned him $100,000. In spring 1989, he purchased the Orlando Juice baseball team for $700,000. He soon began to focus more of his time on owning it. By the end of the year, his enterprise seemed doomed to failure. His investment had ballooned to more than $2 million and he begun drinking heavily.
During a two-week vacation at their Florida condo, Kathleen became concerned about Philip's mental state. Meanwhile, back in Detroit, employees at his mortgage company discovered that they had been servicing loans that he had purchased from companies that did not exist. The company suspected him of embezzlement.
On January 5, 1990, Philip and Kathleen returned to Detroit and he received a call from the mortgage company. He shut the door on her, but when she entered the room a few minutes later, she found that he was frantic and had papers scattered everywhere. Later that night, he told her that he had been the victim of people selling phony mortgages.
Philp later told his employees that he would get in contact with the people that he had bought the mortgages from. At around 8am on January 8, he left for work, telling Kathleen that he would straighten everything out. However, he never arrived at his office and was never seen again. She later found that he had taken some of his clothes and some luggage.
An FBI investigation revealed that in less than two years, Philip had created ninety-nine fictitious loans, getting him more than $10 million. He allegedly used it to support his lavish lifestyle. Investigators also discovered that he had been convicted of fraud and embezzlement in Florida twelve years earlier.
On the advice of her attorney, Kathleen filed for divorce. However, it was too late; the courts held her responsible for Philip's debts. She was forced to sell nearly everything that they owned, including their cars, boats, Florida condo, and Detroit home.
Philip has never been located. At the time of his disappearance, he was forty-three-years-old, 5'9", weighed 160 pounds, and had dark brown hair. Today, he would be in his 70s.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 20, 1991 episode.
Results: Wanted. Philip was allegedly sighted in Florida and the Bahamas during the early 1990s. However, both Kathleen and his daughter believe that he is now deceased, either due to his alcoholism or association with dangerous criminals. According to his daughter, he was declared legally dead in 1997.
Links:
- Philip Breen on Unsolved.com
- Juice Owner Sought: FBI, IRS Seeking Missing Breen - January 24, 1990
- Freddie Mac Gets Tougher on Lender - May 2, 1992
- More Attention Paid to Loan Fraud - May 10, 1992
- SitcomsOnline discussion forum (Including comments from Kathleen herself and Philip's Daughter)