The ex-husband of missing LA bookkeeper Heidi Planck has claimed her investment firm boss, who is being investigated for fraud, didn't appear 'too concerned' for her after she disappeared and seemed more worried about recovering her work laptop instead.
James Wayne told DailyMail.com he believes 'the answer to Heidi's whereabouts lies with her boss, Jason Sugarman, and his company.'
The 39-year-old California mom has not been seen since she left her son's football game with her dog, Seven, in Downey, Los Angeles, on October 17.
The dog was later discovered alone in an apartment building in downtown LA - some 12 miles from her home - but she's still nowhere to be found.
Wayne said he suspects foul play is involved in his ex-wife's disappearance and that her job at an investment firm is somehow connected.
Planck works as a financial controller, overseeing all employees involved in the accounting process at Camden Capital Partners, where Sugarman is a managing partner who is currently under investigation for a $43million fraud scheme.
James Wayne, the ex-husband of Heidi Planck, says he suspect's the missing 39-year-old Los Angeles accountant's disappearance is linked to her job as he revealed that federal investigators called him to ask questions about her boss. Jim Wayne is seen right with his then-wife in 2008
According to Wayne, he received a phone call from an official with the Securities and Exchange Commission asking about Jason Sugarman (left), the managing partner at Camden Capital Partners LLC, the company that employs Planck. Pictured right: Jason with his wife Elizabeth Guber-Sugarman and their son in May 2014
Wayne said he received a phone call from an Securities and Exchange Commission investigator on October 21 asking him about Jason Sugarman and the firm.
'They were interested in Sugarman and his company. They wanted to know what I know about them, and just generally asked me what I thought about Sugarman,' he said.
Sugarman was charged by the SEC in 2019 with hatching a fraudulent scheme that swindled $43million out of pension funds and left a Native American tribe $60million in debt.
His business partner, Jason Galanis, was sentenced to 189 months in prison for his participation in multiple fraudulent schemes including the tribal bond scheme last year.
According to Wayne, Sugarman 'didn't appear to be too concerned that [Heidi] had gone missing' and seemed more interested in her computer when he spoke with his Sugarman's assistant shortly after his ex-wife went missing.
'While I was on the phone with his assistant, I heard Sugarman in the background barking at his assistant to tell me, "make sure he knows I want my laptop."
'There was no concern and all from my ex-wife's employer. It's a multimillion-dollar company, they didn't offer to hire a private investigator or put up a reward.
'The only thing they really seemed concerned about was Heidi's computer,' he added.
Home surveillance footage shows Planck leaving her home in the Reynier Village district of Los Angeles, with her dog Seven on October 17. She climbs into the Range Rover and drives off
The owners of the apartment building (pictured) in downtown LA where Planck's dog was found initially refused to cooperate with investigators and hand over footage without a warrant. According to Wayne, they started to cooperate after a warrant was issued
Wayne said he never returned the laptop and instead turned it over to the police.
He then spoke with the assistant again a few days later, but this time the employee accused Planck of 'siphoning off money from the company.'
When Wayne said he didn't believe the accusations, the assistant allegedly claimed they had 'proof' and sent him several of Heidi's personal bank statements.
According to Wayne, he never looked at the bank documents in detail and gave them to the police and soon as he got them.
He said cops later told him that Heidi 'didn't have a lot of money in her accounts.'
A couple who lived in the apartment block looked after the dog for a week as they were unable to get in touch with the owner, before Planck's ex-husband eventually tracked it down
'It was pretty low of Sugarman and his minions to accuse Heidi of basically embezzling when she's mysteriously disappeared,' he said.
He added that he has no idea how her employer had obtained her banking information.
Wayne, a hairdresser, revealed Planck doesn't have a college degree or any accounting licensure but was making good money as a bookkeeper, earning $125,000 a year plus monthly bonuses of up to $1,500 a month.
She has been employed at
