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.

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, 10 Exchange Place, Suite 502, 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
PO Box 1836
Salt Lake City, UT 84110
Telephone: (801) 824-9616
E-mail: wklein@kleinutah.com
www.kleinutah.com