U.S. Marshals Seize Local Businessman’s Luxury Cars, Boat : Law: SEC attorney says Michael Gartner tried to sell the vehicles in violation of a court order freezing Costa Mesa firm’s assets.

Federal marshals seized two luxury cars and a racing boat over the weekend from Orange County businessman Michael Gartner, alleging that he tried to sell them in violation of a court order freezing his company’s assets.

Marshals seized Gartner’s new $127,000, 600 Series Mercedes-Benz and a black 1990 BMW 735 sedan with license plate GARTNER on Friday, said Rory Flynn, an attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Flynn said the assets were allegedly purchased with investor money. The cars were at Gartner’s mansion in San Juan Capistrano.

Authorities also seized Gartner’s brand-new, $114,000 Wellcraft racing boat from a dock in Newport Beach on Saturday.

Gartner, president of Interlink Data Network Inc. of Costa Mesa, has been sued by the SEC for alleged securities fraud. The SEC alleges that Gartner’s company raised more than $10 million from 450 investors for a video phone network that was never built. Gartner has denied any wrongdoing.

In June, a federal court ordered a freeze on Interlink’s bank accounts. Last month, the court held Gartner in contempt for violating the order by making a $19,200 rent payment on his mansion.

SEC officials said they discovered that Gartner also sold a new company-owned Dodge Viper for $51,000 on Aug. 26, three days after the contempt order. He allegedly used some of that money to pay his rent for the month of August.

“He was trying to sell the boat,” Flynn said. “Gartner has shown nothing but bad faith. We had to take the cars and boat to keep them from being sold.”

Flynn said Gartner has helped start another video phone manufacturing company, Videotel Technologies Inc., at 189 Technology Drive in Irvine. He said Gartner told him that the new company has not attempted to raise money yet.

Meanwhile, Photonic Industries Inc., a Rohnert Park company run by Gartner’s former partner, Delbert Wolverton, filed for bankruptcy liquidation last month.

Gartner, reached at the offices of Videotel on Monday, would not comment on the seizures or the allegations. He objected to the “negative slant” of newspaper reports about Interlink.

Flynn said that Gartner is a consultant for Videotel, which is headed by Steven Pace, Gartner’s personal trainer.