RECEIVERSHIPS: US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust

WAYNE KLEIN, RECEIVER FOR

US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust

299 South Main, Suite 1300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, (801) 534-4455

Updates: Descriptions of Recent Developments

    April 25, 2012: The Court today entered an order approving seven settlement agreements entered into by the Receiver.

    April 23, 2012: The Receiver today filed a motion and memo with the Court seeking approval to finalize seven settlement agreements. These settlement agreements will bring over $340,000 to the Receivership Estate.

    April 20, 2012: The Court today granted the CFTC’s request to strike Holloway’s motion to set aside the default judgment entered against US Ventures. The Court said Holloway cannot represent US Ventures because corporations can only be represented by attorneys, not officers.

    March 26, 2012: The Court today set a hearing for April 23, 2012 on the Receiver’s motion for approval to begin the claims process. If the claims process is approved at that time, the Receiver will ask the Court to extend the deadlines included in the original motion.

    March 23, 2012: The Receiver today filed the fifth quarterly status report with the court. The report describes activities of the Receivership since December 15, 2011.

    March 7, 2012: The Receiver today filed a motion with the Court seeking permission to begin a claims process. The documents include a motion and memorandum describing the claims process proposed by the Receiver and copies of the claim form that the Receiver proposes to use can be found here. As soon as the Court approves the claim form and the claims process, the Receiver will e-mail copies to investors whose addresses the Receiver has and will post them on the website. Do not complete the proposed claim form that was submitted to the Court.

    March 6, 2012: The Receiver today filed a motion asking the Court to approve payment of the balance of the first fee application (for work performed from January 25, 2011 to April 30, 2011) and to approve payment to the receiver’s attorneys for work the attorneys performed between January 31, 2011 and May 1, 2011. A copy of the application can be found here. The Receiver will file an application for his fees for work since May when more funds have been recovered.

    February 21, 2012: The Court today entered two orders relating to the Receivership. The Court approved six settlement agreements that the Receiver has recently negotiated. The Court also entered an order requiring Andres to allow the Receiver to access documents on the Winsome computer, subject to certain conditions.

    February 17, 2012: The Receiver today filed a motion asking the Court to approve six settlement agreements recently reached by the Receiver. The settlements are with CitiMortgage (whereby the Receiver will assist the bank in selling Andres’ home and dividing the proceeds), W. Erving (return of full $100,000 loan from Winsome), L. Sternheim (return of full $153,730 overpaid, plus $1,050 in court filing fees), I. Sternheim (return of full $33,000 overpaid), Kluger School (return of full $10,000 overpaid) See Receiver’s Note, and A. Kalil and S. Ponsler (return of full $25,000 overpaid). Copies of the motion and supporting memorandum.

    January 31, 2012: The Receiver filed a motion with the Court asking for approval to finalize three settlement agreements. Under the first settlement, a law firm has paid the Receiver $425,000.00 in settlement of claims the Receiver might assert relating to legal fees that Winsome paid to the law firm. The second settlement involves an investor repaying $10,000 of the $15,000 he was overpaid. The third involves an investor repaying $7,500 of the $8,032 that he was overpaid. On January 31, 2012, the Court issued an order approving the settlements. Copies of the motion, memorandum in support, and court order can be found here. The memorandum in support provides a description of the settlements.

    January 30, 2012: The New Mexico bankruptcy court issued an order approving the settlement between the Receiver and the bankruptcy trustee regarding the sale of the patent rights in Aerospace Consulting. The Receivership Court had approved the settlement earlier.

    January 23, 2012: The Receiver today filed another group of lawsuits against people and companies who received funds improperly from US Ventures or Winsome. Those sued today include: Nordstrom Bank, Wycliff, American Express, Barrington/John Cook, Warren Chiu/PacificWin, Cook/Onti, Sarmiento/Grupo, and Lewis Scogin/Covenant Trust.

    January 20, 2012: The Receiver today filed twelve new lawsuits against persons who received improper funds from Winsome or US Ventures. The lawsuits are against: Jesus Baca, John Bassett, Judith Bassett, Steven Hoskins, Norbert Keeney, Duane Kilburg, Forres McGraw, Michael Roulhac, Christina Scott, Summa Stelly, Christine Walker, and Patricia Winans.

    January 18, 2012: The Receiver today filed 13 lawsuits against people and companies who are alleged to have received funds improperly from Winsome or US Ventures. The lawsuits name the following as defendants: Aishwariya Enterprises, Hendrick Barrett, David Story, Lou Georges, Roxanne Tsakas, Khiem Le, MME Group/Robert Righetti, Ryan Runia, Sacred Site Properties, William Smith, Ronda Beasore, Devon Dahlke, and Steven Stelly.

    January 17, 2012: The Receiver filed 19 lawsuits today against people and companies that received improper funds from Winsome or USV. The lawsuits are against Kathryn Payton, Fundacion Guatemalteco, JoAnn Holly, King King & Jones, Rabbi Solomon Kluger School, William Ison, JKKB Enterprises, World Investment Strategies, Nunzio Bruno, Lauren Bateman, Jacki Barrientes, Allison Frank, Linh Nguyen, Assed Kalil & Steven Ponsler, Gerald Nowak, Kathy Grady, Jason Buck, Garry Smith, and Joshua Carmody.

    January 11, 2012: The Receiver filed a lawsuit today against New Mexico attorney Daniel Behles and his law firm. Behles represented Winsome in connection with payments to Aerospace Consulting Corp. In the lawsuit the Receiver alleges that Behles received payments in excess of the value of work he performed for Winsome and breached his fiduciary duties to Winsome.

    January 9, 2012: The Receiver today filed three more lawsuits seeking to recover funds paid improperly by Winsome. Those sued today include Ravkind and Associates (a Dallas law firm), Mark Bush (a resident of Houston), and Terry Harper (a third-party marketer).

    January 5, 2012: The Receiver filed two additional lawsuits today against persons who received funds improperly from Winsome. The lawsuits are against Keith Shaffner (and others) and Erie Technology Incubator.

    January 4, 2012: The federal district court today issued an order “reappointing” the Receiver. This step was necessary to allow the Receiver to file a notice of the receivership in additional states where targets are located. The Receiver expects to file this notice in an additional six federal districts.

    December 30, 2011: The Receiver today filed a motion with the federal court, asking the court to “re-appoint” him as Receiver. This is necessary in order to allow the Receiver to file notices of the receivership in another six federal districts. With these notices, the Receiver will be able to file suit against targets residing in those districts. The Receiver filed a motion, a brief in support, and a declaration signed by the Receiver.

    December 29, 2011: The Receiver today filed his Fourth status Report to the Court, summarizing the Receiver’s activities from September 16 to December 15, 2011. The report discusses lawsuits filed, settlements reached, and plans of the Receiver going forward.

    December 29, 2011: The Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is sending electronic letters to possible victims related to criminal charges the government recently filed against Robert Andres and Robert Holloway. The letters include an explanatory letter and a victim impact statement. The Department of Justice also has created specific Web pages that provide updates on the status of the criminal cases. The page for Andres can be accessed at www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/andresr.html and the page for Holloway at www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/hollowayr.html.

    The victim impact statement is designed to help the Department of Justice gather information for its criminal prosecution. This is different from information the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the Receiver might need for their work. We apologize that there may be duplication, but all of us have separate roles and will need different variations of the information for different purposes.

    The Receiver encourages all investors to assist the Department of Justice by providing the information being requested. Please retain a copy of your victim impact statement and any documents you send to the Department of Justice. At this point, send copies only to the Department of Justice. If the CFTC or the Receiver needs this information later, you will be contacted.

    While the Department of Justice letter does not list a deadline for submitting information, the Receiver encourages you to respond by the end of January. The information should be sent to Pamela Washington at the address listed in the letter.

    December 23, 2011: The Receiver filed a motion asking the Court to permit him to review files on a Winsome computer that Robert Andres claimed were privileged. The legal memorandum accompanying the motion explains why the Receiver believes the computer files are records of Winsome and should be available to the Receiver.

 

Welcome to the Klein & Associates website! This page contains information regarding the Receivership: US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust. On this page, you will find:

  • Copies of the Court Order Appointing a Receiver and other Court filings about the Receivership;
  • Copies of Status Reports and other notices the Receiver will file with the Court;
  • Copies of lawsuits the Receiver will be filing, seeking to recover funds;
  • Information relating to tax treatment of Ponzi scheme losses; and
  • General information about the Receivership.

COURT FILINGS:

1. Appointment of Receiver/Litigation by CFTC

2. Status Reports to the Court

3. Lawsuits filed by the Receiver

4. Settlements by the Receiver

5. Lawsuits against the Receiver

6. Criminal Proceedings

7. Fee Applications/Other Court Filings

8. Questionnaires, Communications, and Claim Process Filings

Questionnaire Information

Cover Letter to Questionnaire

Click Here for the Questionnaire

Click Here for the Questionnaire .doc file

Click Here for the Questionnaire .pdf file

GENERAL INFORMATION:

CFTC Press Release

Receiver’s Note,
“The Receiver has settled its claims against Isaac Sternheim, Leonard Sternheim, and Rabbi Solomon Kluger School without any admission of any liability and acknowledge that Isaac Sternheim, Leonard Sternheim, and Rabbi Solomon Kluger were never alleged to have committed any illegal acts, but only received payments from Winsome after Winsome was insolvent.”

TAX INFORMATION

Dear Investor:

On March 17, 2009 the IRS announced significant tax relief for victims of Ponzi schemes. The ability to take tax deductions for past years and future years has been greatly expanded. I have added information here that will help you understand the new tax relief and that your accountants and tax advisors can use in determining how to deduct losses from this scheme.

  1. Article from March 18 2009 Wall Street Journal
  2. IRS Revenue Ruling 09-09
  3. IRS Revenue Procedure 09-20
  4. Testimony To Congress By A Top IRS Official Explaining the New Tax Relief Procedures

This information is being posted for investor information. The Receiver has no opinion on how individual investors treat their investment for tax purposes. Investors are urged to contact their own tax professionals for advice on tax treatment of their situation.

01/25/2011 STATEMENT FROM THE RECEIVER

On January 25, 2011, Wayne Klein was appointed as Receiver for:

  1. US Ventures
  2. Winsome Investment Trust

The appointment as Receiver was made by US District court Judge Bruce S Jenkins. The case was filed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Federal Court in Utah The Receiver is providing the following information that may be helpful to investors regarding the US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust Receivership:

What is a Receiver? A Receiver is a person appointed by a court to take control of companies or assets. This prevents any further dissipation or misuse of the assets and begins the process that hopefully will lead to recovering money that can be used to pay investors and other creditors. As the Receiver, it is my duty to gather and protect the assets of US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust. I am experienced in analyzing investment programs, having served as Receiver in previous cases, Director of the Utah Division of Securities, Chief of the Utah Attorney General’s Commercial Enforcement Division, and Chief of the Idaho Securities Bureau. I do not work for any of the parties in the lawsuits that have been filed.

What will the Receiver do now? The immediate tasks for the Receiver are: 1) locating the assets and records of the companies and transferring them to my control, 2) conducting an analysis of the company’s operations to determine where the funds were expended and determining what claims, if any, the company may have against third parties to recover more funds, 3) recovering any deposits in brokerage or bank accounts, 4) seeking to recover any improper payments made to others, 5) selling any assets of the company, and 6) recommending to the Court a plan to distribute funds the Receiver is able to recover. The Receiver expects to be able to take advantage of work already done in gathering and analyzing information.

When can I get my money back? How much? It is too early to say how much, if any money the Receiver will be able to locate and recover. The Receiver will analyze the records of the company, including bank records, and identify where assets might be. The Receiver will then seek to recover those assets. The Receiver also must evaluate claims against the company, such as investor claims. It will likely take many months to completely gather and evaluate this information. It is not possible to determine, at this early date, what funds, if any, will be located and returned.

How can I keep informed about what the Receiver is doing? The Receiver must file regular progress reports with the court. Those reports are public information and will be shared with investors. The Receiver will post these reports, copies of court filings, and other information about the receivership on its web site: http://www.kleinutah.com Investors are encouraged to check the web site for updated information.

How do the Receiver and his staff get paid? We are paid out of assets of the estate, generally from monies we recover. All payments must be approved by the Court.

What information will the Receiver want from me? The Receiver will be sending investors a form requesting information about your investments and asking for copies of documents you received from the company. If there is information you think the Receiver should know now, before he finishes his preliminary review of records of the company, you can send them to the Receiver at: Wayne Klein, Receiver for US Ventures and Winsome Investment Trust, 299 South Main, Suite 1300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. The Receiver can be contacted at (801) 534-4455 or via e-mail at wklein@kleinutah.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Wayne Klein

Receiver

299 South Main, Suite 1300

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Telephone: (801) 534-4455

E-mail: wklein@kleinutah.com

www.kleinutah.com