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Two more directors are leaving YTB International’s board.
Clay Winfield resigned Thursday, and Dr. Timothy Kaiser will not stand for re-election, according to the online travel company’s proxy statement filed last week.
Winfield and Kaiser were principal shareholders of Meridian Bank, which lent YTB $2.5 million to build its new corporate headquarters in Wood River, Ill., according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In October, Meridian Bank was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for unsound practices, and the FDIC was named receiver.
Winfield is owner of Winfield Cos., an Edwardsville, Ill.-based luxury homebuilder that’s building YTB’s new headquarters.
Dr. Timothy Kaiser is an ear, nose and throat doctor in Alton, Ill., who also invests in banks and real estate.
Winfield resigned "to devote more time to his other business interests," according to a regulatory filing Monday.
The exits by Winfield and Kaiser follow two earlier board resignations. John Simmons and Burt Saunders resigned from the board last year. Saunders, a former Florida state senator, resigned from the board to become a legal consultant for YTB.
YTB’s executives took pay cuts last year, according to the filing. Including bonuses and stock awards, founder and Chairman Lloyd “Coach” Tomer made $2.98 million in total compensation in 2008, down from $3.3 million in 2007, according to the filing. Chief Executive Scott Tomer made $1.02 million in 2008, down from $1.99 million in 2007. Co-founder Kim Sorenson made $1 million, down from $1.99 million in 2007.
Last month, auditors raised concerns about YTB, saying its board had little control over managers’ spending and company officials signed contracts without the board’s approval.
Also last month, YTB said it hired Robert Van Patten to serve as co-CEO and serve in a consulting capacity on administrative, accounting and corporate governance issues.
In August, California’s attorney general sued YTB International, blasting it as a “gigantic pyramid scheme,” an allegation the company denies. YTB, which operates through YourTravelBiz.com, said last month that it reached a tentative settlement agreement with California Attorney General Jerry Brown, but Brown’s office has yet to announce an agreement.
kvolkmann@bizjournals.com
