Did Ken and Stacy Mattson try to unlawfully remove items from a Sonoma property they sold? Here’s what we know

In the latest twist in the saga of embattled developer Ken Mattson, police were summoned to Sonoma’s Best market and deli on Sunday after receiving a report that people were unlawfully removing items from the building.

The person making the call alleged the intruders were Mattson and his wife, Stacy, but Sonoma police would not immediately confirm that the couple were involved in the incident at the property, which Mattson recently sold.

Two people with knowledge of the incident told The Press Democrat it was the Mattsons, currently the subject of wide-ranging allegations of investment fraud, who were apprehended at the site.

There are no additional notes “confirming that identity,” according to Sheriff’s Deputy Nikko Miller.

Ken and Stacy Mattson did not immediately respond to messages from The Press Democrat seeking comment.

Ken Mattson sold the property and the business — including much of the equipment necessary to run the market, wine bar, coffee counter and delicatessen — on May 8 to San Francisco tech entrepreneur Chris Fanini.

It was “one of the (new) owners” who called the Sheriff’s Office, Miller told The Press Democrat. That agency staffs the Sonoma Police Department, though Sonoma’s Best is outside city limits in any case.

Fanini bought the market and 12 other Sonoma-area properties, including the Sonoma Cheese Factory, from KS Mattson Partners — Ken Mattson’s core business — in May. Fanini could not immediately be reached for comment.

Deputies responded to the service call at 1190 E. Napa Street around 11 a.m. on June 16, Miller said. They directed the perpetrators to return the property to the building, and the Sheriff’s Office now considers the dispute a civil matter.

Mattson’s problems seem to multiply each week.

In May, Mattson was accused of investment fraud by his lifelong friend, Tim LeFever. That accusation ultimately led to the FBI searching Mattson’s primary residence outside Sonoma on May 24. Mattson and LeFever, longtime business partners, sued one another on June 6; Mattson filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, LeFever in Sonoma County, also on behalf of two investment funds they had established together.

LeFever’s civil complaint alleges that his lifelong friend defrauded him and their company out of “at least $100 million.” Much of that money was sowed into additional real estate purchases.

In addition, Mattson has been sued by at least former investor, Charlene Hultman, a 79-year-old widow who lives in Brentwood and claims Mattson and his companies defrauded her and husband out of at least $600,000.

Clients also have described a trail of irregularities at Specialty Sales Classics, a group of consignment car lots owned by Mattson.

Fanini, 39, is best known as co-founder and chief technical officer of Weebly, a San Francisco-based tech startup that helps customers build websites, blogs and online stores.

NOTE: This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.