# Shearn Moody Jr.

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{{Short description|American financier, entrepreneur and philanthropist}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = Shearn Moody Jr.
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| birth_date                = {{birth date|1933|05|23}}
| birth_place               = [Galveston](/source/Galveston), Texas, US
| death_date                = {{death date and age|1996|06|25|1933|05|23}}
| death_place               = Galveston, Texas, US
| body_discovered           = 
| resting_place             = Galveston Memorial Cemetery, [Hitchcock, Texas](/source/Hitchcock%2C_Texas), U.S.
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| occupation                = Financier
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| children                  = 
| relatives                 = [William Lewis Moody Jr.](/source/William_Lewis_Moody_Jr.) (grandfather)<br>
[Mary Moody Northen](/source/Mary_Moody_Northen) (aunt)
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}}
'''Shearn Moody Jr.''' (May 23, 1933 – June 25, 1996) was an American financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from [Galveston, Texas](/source/Galveston%2C_Texas). He was heir to a financial empire and originator of the [Moody Gardens](/source/Moody_Gardens) resort complex.<ref name=olympics>{{cite web|title=Anti-Olympics bid aims to tip scales|publisher= Houston Chronicle|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2000_3234976|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref><ref name=fortune>{{cite news | title = Who's Crazy: The IRS or Mr. Moody? | publisher = Fortune Magazine | url = https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/08/21/205403/index.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018081552/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/08/21/205403/index.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 18, 2012 | access-date = 2009-09-30 | first=Andrew E. | last=Serwer | date=1995-08-21}}</ref><ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Isle financier Shearn Moody dies at age 63/Reclusive millionaire dogged by controversy |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1996_1350183 |publisher=[Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle) }}</ref> Moody was the grandson of insurance and financial tycoon [William Lewis Moody Jr.](/source/William_Lewis_Moody_Jr.)<ref name=moodyfam/>

==Personal life==
Shearn Moody Jr., was born on May 23, 1933, to Shearn Moody Sr. and Frances Moody Newman in Galveston, Texas.<ref name=fmnewmann>
{{cite news |title= Frances M. Newman, managed Moody trust |url= http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2003_3679433 |publisher= [Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle) |access-date= 2009-09-30}}</ref>  His father died in 1936, while he was an infant.<ref name=gdnobit>{{cite news|title=Frances Moody Newman dies at 96|url= http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?wcd=12386|publisher=[Galveston County Daily News](/source/Galveston_County_Daily_News)|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref>
Moody was well known for eccentric behavior, such as building a slide from his bedroom window to a swimming pool, where he kept pet penguins, and wearing house slippers wherever he went.<ref name=obit/>  Moody, a homosexual, never married and spent the final years of his life involved in civil court cases. His longtime partner was a former Las Vegas dancer named Jimmy Stoker. Moody felt that the court system was corrupt and believed that his enemies used the legal system to try to steal his wealth and power; he claimed to have employed "several hundred" lawyers in various legal battles and even at one point hired nationally known lawyer [Roy Cohn](/source/Roy_Cohn) to help in his ongoing [litigation](/source/litigation) problems.<ref name=fortune/>  Moody died at home in 1996, after suffering from years of chronic high blood pressure and kidney disease.<ref name=obit/>

==Business and legal dealings==
His grandfather, William L. Moody Jr., made a fortune by founding the [American National Insurance Company](/source/American_National_Insurance_Company), and the younger Moody hoped to follow in his grandfather's footsteps by establishing the Alabama-based [Empire Life Insurance Company](/source/Empire_Life_Insurance_Company).<ref name=moodyfam/>  This dream was short lived, however, as in 1972 his own company ousted him after the federal government began investigating his business dealings.  The investigation would eventually lead to his conviction of [bankruptcy fraud](/source/bankruptcy_fraud).  In 1987 Moody was convicted by a federal court of [mail fraud](/source/mail_fraud) and [wire fraud](/source/wire_fraud) in connection with attempts to defraud his family's [Moody Foundation](/source/Moody_Foundation).<ref name=obit/><ref name=moodyfam>{{cite news|title=THE MOODY FAMILY/Power, wealth and eccentricity mark the history of this flamboyant family|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_774020|publisher=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref> Moody had long served on the board of the charitable foundation, helping to direct millions of dollars in grants to just causes.<ref name=olympics/><ref name=moodyfam/>  However the [Internal Revenue Service](/source/Internal_Revenue_Service) accused him making millions of dollars of grants to himself, and therefore owing more than $14 million in taxes and penalties.<ref name=fortune/> After a trial that included accusations of [witchcraft](/source/witchcraft),<ref name=witchcraft>{{cite news|title=Aide of Moody linked to witch group at trial|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_503541|publisher=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref> Moody singing a risque song he had commissioned about the legal profession,<ref name=fortune2/> and threats to "blow the legs off" former [Watergate](/source/Watergate) attorney [Douglas Caddy](/source/Douglas_Caddy),<ref name=blowlegsoff>{{cite news|title=Explosives expert accuses Shearn Moody in bomb plot|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_433850|publisher=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2009-10-01}}</ref><ref name=blowlegsoff2>{{cite news|title=In harm's way, again/What do Watergate, CIA and Moody probe have in common? Caddy|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_435342|publisher=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2009-10-01}}</ref> a federal appellate court overturned the convictions.<ref name=fortune2>{{cite news|title=Who's Crazy: The IRS or Mr. Moody? | publisher = [Fortune](/source/Fortune_(magazine)) |quote=<sup>Moody:"...this was my present back to the legal profession. And it is a comical strip about a hooker that becomes a lawyer that becomes a judge. And...</sup> |url = https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/08/21/205403/index.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018081552/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/08/21/205403/index.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 18, 2012 | access-date = 2009-09-30 | first=Andrew E. | last=Serwer | date=1995-08-21}}</ref>

In 1987, Moody was featured on the cover of [Texas Monthly](/source/Texas_Monthly) magazine and proclaimed "the sleaziest man in Texas"<ref name=obit/><ref name=sleazy>{{cite news|title=Moody trial halted over media stories|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_480192|publisher=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2009-10-01}}</ref> and in November 1989, after an investigation spanning more than a decade, he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in connection with the now defunct Empire Life Insurance Company.  Although sentenced to five years in federal prison, Moody served little time and was released on parole in May 1991.<ref name=olympics/><ref name=obit/><ref name=moodyfam/>

==Legacy==
In his later years, Moody devoted much of his time to his work on the board of directors of [Moody Gardens](/source/Moody_Gardens).<ref name=obit/> He was quoted in the [Houston Chronicle](/source/Houston_Chronicle) as saying, "I originally conceived the project of the gardens because we wanted to use the gardens to give this community another source of income."<ref name=obit/>

==See also==
*[American National Insurance Company](/source/American_National_Insurance_Company)
*[Moody Foundation](/source/Moody_Foundation)
*[Moody Gardens](/source/Moody_Gardens)

==Notes==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.moodybank.com/ Moody National Bank]
*[http://www.moodyf.org/ The Moody Foundation]
*[http://www.moodymansion.org/ Moody Mansion Historic Home]
*[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmo22 William Lewis Moody Jr.] at Handbook of Texas Online
*[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fno15 Mary Elizabeth Moody Northen] at Handbook of Texas Online

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Shearn Jr.}}
Category:1933 births
Category:1996 deaths
Category:American financiers
Category:Bankers from Texas
Category:People from Galveston, Texas
Category:American people convicted of money laundering
Category:Businesspeople from Texas
Category:Wealth in the United States
Category:American people convicted of fraud
Category:American businesspeople convicted of crimes
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:20th-century American philanthropists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shearn Moody Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shearn_Moody_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shearn_Moody_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.