Publishing Perks?

Justin Hibbard

The tony town of Saratoga is abuzz over a lawsuit filed by one of its multimillionaire residents. Seems that trouble-prone Ravi Kumra, the former owner of Mountain Winery (which hosts a popular summer concert series) and a top contributor to the Gray Davis recall campaign, is back in court again–this time as a plaintiff.

Three years ago, Kumra's VC firm Tesla Capital made a bad bet on a short-lived, San Francisco-based business magazine and website called Futuredex. Now, in a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County court in February, Kumra and Tesla are accusing Futuredex's husband-and-wife founders, Damir Perge and Cheryl Hammer, of embezzling $3.6 million and running off with Tesla's books. Kumra and Tesla claim Perge–a former Tesla manager who appointed himself editor-in-chief and graced the premier issue's cover–set up a system of kickbacks that funneled the VC firm's money through Futuredex's parent company and into the pockets of Perge and Hammer.

To make the situation even tenser, the couple lives only four miles from Kumra. And the eccentric ex-vintner has a colorful history himself. In 1998, Kumra was arrested for assaulting a security guard and making threatening phone calls–to which he pleaded no contest. He reportedly got three years of probation for two counts of disturbing the peace. While Kumra's lawyer declined to comment on the current lawsuit, Hammer told San Francisco the allegations are "groundless."