Robin Weiss and Vanessa Huber win summary judgment in receivership case

Robin Weiss and Vanessa Huber have successfully obtained a summary judgment ruling in a receivership case involving fraudulently transferred assets. The ruling was secured for Kevin Dooley Kent, who serves as the court-appointed receiver for various entities linked to a fraudulent investment scheme totaling $100 million.

Kent’s involvement in the case stemmed from a criminal investigation and subsequent prosecution of a Pennsylvania investment advisor. This advisor was arrested in August 2019 and indicted for securities fraud in June 2020. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the advisor had raised approximately $105 million from around 40 investors under false pretenses. Investors were led to believe that their funds would be invested in publicly traded securities through high-return trading strategies. However, the SEC complaint exposed that the advisor made minimal investments in these strategies and instead used the funds to repay other investors and for personal investments.

In June 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey appointed Kent as the receiver for the assets of the fraudulent advisor and her controlled entities. Kent took action to recover assets that had been fraudulently transferred to third parties. One such third-party recipient had benefited from over $2.3 million through transfers from the advisor’s entities and the unauthorized use of the advisor’s corporate credit card.

The court granted summary judgment in favor of Kent as receiver, based on the arguments presented by Weiss and Huber. It was established that the individual who received the assets had not provided any value in return for the transfers and could not prove receiving the assets in good faith. The court found that the individual was aware or should have been aware of the fraudulent scheme orchestrated by the advisor. Consequently, the court ruled in favor of Kent, ordering the individual to repay over $2.3 million.

Weiss expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that they were pleased to have represented a colleague in recovering funds for those affected by the fraudulent scheme. The ruling is expected to benefit the receivership estate and the defrauded investors significantly.

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