2020 presented many challenges to our personal and professional lives. It is a year we will not soon forget. On a positive note, it was a great opportunity for many of us to get to know our colleagues on a more personal level. By Zooming from our home offices, kitchen counters or in some cases, a laundry room, it provided us insights we would not have had without COVID-19. For that, we are extremely thankful.
In the face of the many challenges in 2020, it has been an interesting and productive year for the Commercial Fraud Committee. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us expected an enormous downturn in the economy, which undoubtedly leads to the exposure of fraud schemes. In August 2020, our committee presented a webinar, “COVID-19: Fraud Schemes, Relief Act Forgiveness Fraud, and International Commercial Fraud Issues.” The panelists included Adam Crane (HSM Chambers), Michael Napoli (Akerman, LLP) and Ginny Tate (FIA International), who delved into historic economic downturns and the fraud schemes exposed as a result. They also discussed the types of fraud schemes that are currently being observed as a result of the pandemic and COVID-19. They provided an in-depth discussion on the CARES Act and its impact on business and fraud schemes. They also addressed new case law that expands the opportunities to recover fraudulent transfer property from foreign entities.
In addition, the committee hosted a webinar in January 2020 that presented a panel of experts discussing “Pursuing and Proving Fraud When Individual Debtors Hide Their Business Assets.” The panelists included Scott Brown (Bast Amron) Grace Robson (Markowtiz Ringel Trusty & Hartog), Peter Davis (Simon Consulting) and Joe Wielebinski (Winstead, PC).
For the annual Winter Leadership Conference, our committee teamed up with the Claims Trading Committee to present a panel discussion, “Fraud and the Implications for Claims Trading and Plans.” The panel presented a review of relevant statutory and case authority surrounding issues of fraud and plan confirmation. The panelists were Scott Cargill (Lowenstein Sandler, LLP), Hon. Michelle M. Harner (U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D Md.), Jennifer Taylor (O’Melveny & Myers, LLP) and R. Scott Williams (Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, P.A.)
During 2020, our committee published three newsletters; for 2021, a webinar is planned.
Get Involved!
We invite our committee members to get involved and contribute to our success. To that end, we encourage you to write articles for our quarterly newsletters. Please contact Michael Napoli at michael.napoli@akerman.com for more information.
We will be planning additional webinars in 2021. Please let us know if you are interested in participating in a webinar by contacting Adam Crane for more information at acrane@hsmoffice.com.
Committee members can provide written analysis and commentary to our members via the listserv. We encourage our members to post updates regarding new cases and other issues to the listserv. Please contact Ben Barnes at ben.barnes@kirland.com for more information if you have an update or commentary to post.