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 Post subject: For those threatened by the Meridian cronies
PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 2:48 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 1:15 pm
Posts: 12
I continue to be disgusted by the tactics used by the Meridian cronies to shut investors up. Or to silence those that have information that could implicate these dirtbags. The same goes for the motor coach employees who've been ridiculed into submission or otherwise forced to shut up.

With threats comes fear, but your silence is the best friend they have! That's why so many have been forced to sign those insidious "agreements". If you haven't been forced into a gag order, tell your stories. If you have, talk to law enforcment! The media is also tracking and investigating these thugs. There are ways to insure your stories get to those people.

If you have been forced into a gag order, the DOJ, the FBI and the US Attorney's office need to know! These crimes need to be reported!!! And they will protect your identity.

Keep the faith! It will take time to expose all the parasites. There were many, many layers to Berg's fallen empire. And many people who'd like to pretend they had nothing to do with it. But when you sleep with dogs, you get fleas. And fleas can be very, very hard to get rid of........


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 Post subject: Re: For those threatened by the Meridian cronies
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:18 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 1:15 pm
Posts: 12
Another great piece from the Seattle Times. It's bad news for unsecured creditors aka investors, as they are not considered creditors. Anything we get back will be pocket change.

GOOD NEWS, however, as it looks certain the trustee IS going after Berg's cronies who are now trying to burrow underground: Those under scrutiny are "professionals" who acted as Meridian agents; certain "estate planning" lawyers; finanical advisors (be they licensed or just pretending to be); and those various law and accounting fims who covered up this scam and thretened those with information into ruinous litigation should they dare speak out.

Greed and arrogance must be the reasons these clowns don't understand that there are HONEST and far less stressful ways to earn a decent living. There's no need to resort to fleecing decent people. Especially the elderly ones! Crime doesn't pay, especially when you're as dumb as these clowns are.

If you've been harrassed or threatened by ANYONE associated with Berg or via you investments in Meridian, and were told to keep quiet, contact the trustee ASAP. Even if you have already signed a gag order by one of the firms that may be sued by the trustee, you have the responsibility to report your experience to the trustee. Alternatively, as a crime vicitm you can make a complaint/ report through the DOJ's victim assistance program. They are taking this very seriously and need to hear from you! As investors who lost money to Berg, we're all crime victims. Being harrassed and thretened into silence is yet another crime. See how these cretins work?

Berg creditors may recoup 15-25 percent, says bankruptcy plan
Bankruptcy trustee in Meridian Mortgage case may recoup as much as $31 million.

By Rami Grunbaum
Seattle Times deputy business editor

Investors in the collapsed Meridian Mortgage funds could recoup 15 to 25 percent of the money originally paid into what prosecutors have called the largest Ponzi scheme in state history, according to a reorganization plan filed Friday by the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. The current amount recovered for creditors is $19.7 million, but the total eventually could reach $31 million, said trustee Mark Calvert.

Investors in three Meridian funds filed in July to force them into bankruptcy protection, and soon a total of 11 were in Chapter 11 protection under Calvert's authority. The founder of The Meridian Group, Frederick Darren Berg, is in federal detention awaiting trial on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud.
Calvert's filing Friday said Berg diverted as much as $85 million to his personal use, including $45 million channeled into the luxury bus company he established, MTR Western. Another $10 million was poured into a home-building company, Meridian Greenfield, according to the trustee.

Approximately $50 million of the money invested was used to pay other investors, to perpetuate the alleged Ponzi scheme, the trustee's report says. And many investors plowed their supposed profits back into the Meridian funds.

All those phony profits are not counted as claims in the bankruptcy case and will not be repaid. Berg's personal assets are one source of repayment for the investors, whom the bankruptcy treats as unsecured creditors. The trustee for Berg's personal bankruptcy case, Diana Carey, sold Berg's Mercer Island house and other assets, including the luxury-bus company, in the fall. The bus line netted $5.7 million and Berg's other property yielded $1.6 million, Calvert's report says.
Another source is the small number of real-estate loans, as well as foreclosed properties, that the Meridian partnerships invested in. Those assets are valued at more than $12 million, according to the report.

A third potential source is pursuing claims against others who may have improperly benefited from Meridian. The plan says the trustee "is currently investigating potential causes of action" against unnamed outsiders, which might include "any relative, domestic partner or insider of Berg."

Calvert said in a previous interview that he is weighing litigation against professional firms that advised or audited Berg's companies, among them Moss Adams and Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. The plan estimates such claims could recover $5 million for investors.
The bankruptcy plan also shows the trustee hopes to "claw back" about $3 million that certain investors received from Meridian after Berg warned in August 2009 that the funds didn't have sufficient cash to allow withdrawals.

According to the voluminous plan filed Friday, Berg's misappropriations started as early as 2001 but "the magnitude increased each year."


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/b ... ian26.html


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