The performance hall in the heart of Beaver Creek now bears the name of a guilty man, putting supporters of the arts and music scene in an awkward position.

Philanthropist and investment adviser Alberto Vilar, who poured more than $10 million into the Vail Valley and helped transform the community into a cultural hub, was convicted Wednesday of defrauding his clients.

"It's very sad," said Harry Frampton, head of real estate developer East West Partners.

The conversation in the coming days will turn to the Vilar Performing Arts Center, the 530-seat venue that opened in 1998. The co-founder of Amerindo Investment Advisors covered a large part of the cost to build the theater. In return, the venue was named after him.

Could the jury's decision now force a name change?

"I don't know what we'll do," said Frampton, who also serves as chairman of the Vail Valley Foundation, the group that manages the facility. "I feel sure we'll talk about it, but we haven't had discussions yet."

The opera lover was unable to keep all his promises. Vilar famously pledged $25 million to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, but his name was removed from the Grand Tier after he failed to send all the money.

The National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver never received $25 million, and while Vilar pledged $3.5 million to revamp the Ford Amphitheater in Vail, he contributed only $2 million of that amount.

But in Beaver Creek, Vilar followed through, writing a roughly $7 million check and elevating the valley's level of performances. Despite the outcome of the trial, officials may decide that they have to hold up their end of the bargain and keep Vilar's name on the bronze sign out front.

Local leaders have noted that most visitors to the venue are unlikely to make the connection.

Residents have struggled to reconcile the Vilar they knew with the Vilar prosecutors described. Though he was reputed to have a big ego, Vilar cared deeply about arts and music and gave generously to those causes, they said.

But prosecutors said Vilar, 67, and colleague Gary Tanaka, 65, stole money to keep New York- based Amerindo afloat and to pay Vilar's personal expenses after the firm's investments plunged in value starting in 2000.

A jury in Manhattan federal court convicted Vilar on all 12 counts, including conspiracy and securities fraud, and Tanaka on three counts. They face as much as 20 years in prison on the most serious charges.

"We're deeply disappointed," said Herald Price Fahringer, Vilar's lawyer. "We expect to be fully vindicated on appeal."

The seven-week trial featured testimony from victims including Lily Cates, the mother of actress Phoebe Cates. Cates claimed Vilar and Tanaka stole $5 million by falsely promising to put the money into a U.S. government- backed investment program. Instead, Amerindo used $3.1 million to pay off another investor and $650,000 to pay the firm's bills. Another $1 million went to Vilar, who used it to fulfill a charitable pledge to his alma mater, Washington and Jefferson College, and for other expenses, prosecutors said.

No sentencing date was set. The two men were told to return to court Nov. 26, when U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan will decide whether they may remain free on bail until sentencing.

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.