Attorney
Kathy has practiced law since 1991, with a focus on fraud-related matters as they arise in insolvency proceedings such as bankruptcies and receiverships. She has served as a federal equity receiver in regulatory receiverships and as a Chapter 11 trustee in bankruptcy cases. Kathy has served as lead counsel for receivers appointed at the request of the SEC, the CTFC, and the FTC in numerous complex fraud cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars taken from victims. She also has extensive experience in bankruptcy proceedings and has represented Chapter 7 and 11 trustees for most of her career.
Kathy’s background in receiver and trustee representation as well as her role as a fiduciary in operating cases provides her with experienced business judgment to evaluate the range of possible approaches to obtain the maximum value for victims and creditors. She applies a pragmatic approach to cases of this nature and knows how to efficiently, cost-effectively, and productively manage a case and the professionals involved. Her objective in these types of cases is to return as much money as possible to victims as quickly as possible.
BANKRUPTCIES AND RECEIVERSHIPS
Kathy represents trustees and receivers, debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, and litigants.
Fiduciary Representation
Kathy frequently represents federal equity and state court receivers, Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy trustees, Chapter 11 trustees in operating and liquidating cases, liquidation trustees, foreign liquidators, and assignees for the benefit of creditors.
Bankruptcy trustees: Kathy has deep experience representing trustees appointed in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. She handles complex cases and provides full service to trustees in connection with the administration of the estate, real estate sales, or litigation to preserve or recover assets for the benefit of creditors.
Receivers: She has represented receivers appointed at the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in large scale fraudulent enterprises and Ponzi schemes.
Debtor Representation
Kathy has a broad range of experience in bankruptcy law including representing high net worth individuals and businesses in restructuring their finances. While Chapter 11 is most frequently used by business to reorganize, individuals may also use Chapter 11 to reorganize their finances, especially if they are otherwise ineligible for relief under Chapters 7 or 13. Always considering the most-effective options available, Kathy also works with clients in evaluating non-bankruptcy options such as out-of-court workouts.
Creditor Representation
Kathy represents creditors holding any type of a claim against a bankrupt debtor and assists them is protecting their rights and asserting their claims in pending bankruptcy cases. She has represented a wide variety of creditors – from financial institutions to landlords to consignment creditors and many other types of creditors – to obtain the best possible treatment in bankruptcy cases.
Bankruptcy Litigation
Kathy has extensive litigation experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of bankruptcy litigation matters. She has handled hundreds of fraudulent transfer claims both pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code and the Uniform Avoidable Transactions Act. She prosecutes and defends claims to avoid and recover preferential transfers in bankruptcy cases as well.
FRAUD LITIGATION
Kathy is recognized by her peers for her ability to trace and recover funds in large-scale complex cases and for her familiarity with all issues arising in Ponzi scheme cases. Litigation involving fraudulent activities can arise in an infinite number of ways. Kathy has developed a specialty in representing receivers and bankruptcy trustees in litigation involving fraudulent activities that took place before the scheme was revealed. This litigation includes claims for the recovery of funds and assets that were improperly transferred to third parties, claims of professional malpractice, and claims against directors and officers for breach of their fiduciary duties and aiding and abetting the fraud.
Representative Cases
Lead counsel for court-appointed receiver at the request of the SEC in unwinding a $750 million fraudulent scheme. Over 550 fraudulent transfers claims were resolved consensually, bringing in over $28 million for the benefit of the defrauded victims.
Lead counsel in large Ponzi scheme, supervising the winding down of the business, the reconstruction of missing and incomplete records, the analysis and tracing of investor funds, the liquidation and recovery on various investments made by the debtor, and the prosecution of litigation to recovery funds for the benefit of the investors and creditors.
Special litigation counsel for Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee in prosecuting fraudulent transfers in large scale wine fraudulent scheme.
Lead counsel for receiver appointed at the request of the Federal Trade Commission shutting down the unlawful business operations and analyzing the flow of funds to seek recovery for defrauded victims.
Lead counsel for state court appointed receiver in a litigation matter that involved the reconstruction of missing records and tracing over $9 million of funds removed by the defendant prior to the receiver’s appointment.
Lead counsel for Chapter 11 trustee, and thereafter successor chapter 7 trustee, in bankruptcy case of Ponzi perpetrator, where the debtor sold a fictitious investment product related to pools of life insurance policies. Kathy assisted the trustee in sorting out the documentation, tracing the funds and pursuing litigation to recover funds in the case. The principals of this debtor were both convicted and sentenced.
Lead counsel for Chapter 11 trustee and thereafter the successor chapter 7 trustee, in the bankruptcy case of involving fraudulent Ponzi-like activity of the debtor related to an emission credit trading program through the SCAQMD. Substantial funds were recovered for the benefit of the creditors and the principal of the debtor was ultimately convicted.” to “Kathy’s work resulted in the recovery of substantial funds for the benefit of the creditors. The principal of the debtor was ultimately convicted.
Counsel for chapter 11 and chapter 7 trustees in a multitude of bankruptcy cases, handling both the operation and winding down of various businesses, the tracing of funds, selling of real estate, and prosecution of fraudulent conveyance and preference litigation, among countless administrative issues arising in those cases.