In a divorce case that seems made for TV, a high-profile mortgage lender is heading back to court to get his divorce case reopened and the property settlement modified. He's hoping that evidence gathered in a criminal case will enable him to prove to the family court judge once and for all that his ex-wife didn't deserve the exceeding large share that she received of the couple's property.

Ray Vinson is alleging that his ex-wife Deanna and her current husband conspired to discredit him and to damage his reputation in order to gain the upper hand in the couple's 2006 divorce. The wife received more than $61 million in marital property (which included the couple's mortgage business), while Vinson was awarded only $11.5 million.

In his trip to court this time, Vinson will be bringing with him evidence gained in a criminal case involving his ex-wife's bodyguard and other private investigators who were recently found guilty of racketeering, engaging in a conspiracy to defraud Vinson, and acting with malicious conduct. In that criminal case, Vinson was awarded a half million dollars in damages.

Although his ex-wife wasn't a party to the criminal case, Vinson is charging that she used evidence "procured by fraud and intimidation" to build her case against him in divorce court.

For example, through financial incentives and intimidation, a woman lied under oath to obtain a restraining order against Vinson, saying that she had had an affair with him and that he was dangerous and abusive. Although the woman hadn't then testified in court, the judgment entered into the family court record listed certain actions that Vinson had not admitted to but that had been among the misrepresented facts provided by witnesses employed by his ex-wife.

Vinson believes these misrepresentations were a significant factor in the judge awarding such a large settlement. He hopes that with the facts of the criminal case in hand, the judge will see differently.

Source: St. Louis Today, "Pitchman Vinson uses Nevada verdict to revisit high-stakes divorce," by Nicholas Pistor, December 7, 2011.