An email from Doug Skierski
I asked Doug a few questions along with some comments and here was he response.
Robert –
As you know, there was a criminal prosecution in New Jersey. It resulted in forfeiture orders against several of the defendants. Prior to the trial, it is my understanding that the boat, airplane, one or more automobiles and other assets of certain of the defendants were seized by the government, which has retained possession of them. It is my further understanding that those items will be liquidated and the proceeds distributed to the victims of the scam, presumably including the shareholders. The government may still be working to gain control over other assets. Everything I’ve said in this paragraph is subject to the control of the Dept. of Justice. I do not work for the DoJ, and while we sometimes coordinate, their efforts to obtain, liquidate, and distribute the defendants’ assets are solely theirs and I am not privy to all of their work. Your questions about the Defendants’ assets may be better directed to an attorney at the Dept. of Justice who is handling this matter. I am sorry I do not have further information on that subject.
The FPFI bankruptcy was closed a couple of years ago. There will be no further distributions from it. What distributions were received by FPFG while the Trustee has been in place are included in what the Trustee has distributed and/or will distribute.
The Trustee has settled all of the claims in the lawsuit against the Debtor’s former professionals, officers, and directors. Most or all of their claims against the company were eliminated and some settlements were reached. A few defendants were dismissed because it made no sense to pursue them further. As an example, where the government obtained a forfeiture order, the Trustee did not seek a judgment because it made no sense to expend funds to chase a judgment which would overlap with the forfeiture order; that is, any assets were already going to be seized for the benefit of the victims, so it made no sense to seek another judgment for the same assets.
There will be another distribution, most likely in the second half of 2017, after all tax matters are settled. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.
Best regards,
Doug
AI
