Trustee Brian D. Shapiro Sues Nevada Spendthrift Retirement Trust for Clawback, Alleges Actual Fraud
February 3, 2021, District of Nevada – Trustee Brian D. Shapiro brings a clawback suit against Defendant Nevada Spendthrift Retirement Trust for actual fraud and post-petition transfers.The Defendant is a Nevada spendthrift trust created by a settlor, Louis Toomin. Louis Tommin was a long-time friend of an individual, Brandon Sattler, who owned Debtor, Sattcom Video, LLC. Sattcom was the owner of several vehicles.
The complaint states that after an involuntary bankruptcy was commenced against the Debtor, the creditors filed a motion for a preservation order, seeking to preserve the assets of the bankruptcy estate. Around the same time, the Debtor sold certain vehicles and transferred the $315,382.12 in net sale proceeds to a company called Sattler AV LLC. Sattler AV LLC, transferred the entire amount to certain persons and entities, in an attempt to quickly disburse the funds before the hearing on the preservation motion. Out of $315,382.12, the $25,000.00 was allegedly transferred to Louis Toomin, via a cashier’s check. Louis Toomin, eventually transferred the fund to the Defendant.
Later on, the bankruptcy court entered judgment avoiding the $315,382.12 transfer to Sattler AV LLC and permitting recovery of that transfer from Sattler AV LLC (as initial transferee) according to 11 U.S.C. § 550.
The Trustee brought a complaint, asserting that the alleged transfer of $25,000.00, from Sattler AV LLC to Louis Toomin and from Louis Toomin’s bank account to the Defendant’s bank account is liable to be avoided under § 549 because the Defendant was the mediate transferee of the initial transferee. Further, the $315,382.12 was allegedly deposited into Sattler AV LLC’s bank account solely to squirrel away the sale proceeds, in the face of the looming preservation order hearing.
The Trustee further argues that the Defendant is not a good faith transferee because the Trust did not provide any value to either Louis Toomin (who was deceased at that point) or Sattler AV LLC in exchange for the $25,000.00, and received the funds posthumously only because Brandon Sattler initiated the transfer.
The adversary proceeding arose out of (and is related to) the chapter 7 bankruptcy case In re Sattcom Video, LLC, Nevada bankruptcy case no. 18-16467-abl
(79)