The Rise and Fall of Mongol Art by Louise Blouin

While the company struggled, it took advantage of Hamptons ownership. The LLC associated with the main house, 376 Jane Lane, received a $15 million loan from Morgan Stanley in 2011, according to public records. Around the same time, a second home, 366 Jane Lane, received an $8.5 million infusion from Wells Fargo.

In 2016, Ms. Blouin put La Dune on the market. Asking price: $140 million. When there were no buyers, it arranged for another $26 million in loans from a lender, JGB Management.

Over the next few years, due to significant interest, the amount owed to BOJ rose to $36 million. In the fall of 2021, JGB Bank filed a lawsuit against Ms. Blouin and attempted to place La Dune into foreclosure.

Around the same time, the IRS informed Ms. Blouin that she owed six years of unpaid taxes and penalties on payroll from Louise Blouin Media and another company she owned, ArtNow. In 2021, agents handed her bills totaling more than $10 million, court records show. Ms Blouin responded in an affidavit that she should not be liable for the debts.

“At one time, I was a shareholder,” Ms. Blouin said in the affidavit. “Although a company bears my name, I have never been a director, director or employee.” Unaffected, the IRS placed liens on two properties in Gin Lane, worth a total of at least $4.7 million, according to court filings filed by Ms. Blouin.

In 2022, it retained Bay Point Advisors, which acquired the loan from JGB Management. It then took over Morgan Stanley's loan debt, which has yet to be repaid.