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The co-founders of Israeli artificial intelligence startup Vesttoo ran a forgery scheme that included a fake bank employee persona named “Alex Garcia” to obtain billions of dollars in bogus letters of credit for insurance deals, the now-bankrupt company said, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Vesttoo’s investigation into the fraud allegations that drove it to bankruptcy last month alleged that co-founders Yaniv Bertele and Alon Lifshitz and other senior executives had engaged in a scheme to generate fraudulent letters of credit from China Construction Bank and other financial institutions. The company also said it is considering litigation against China Construction Bank and U.K.-based Standard Chartered based on evidence turned up in the internal investigation that employees at both banks may have been involved in the fraudulent scheme, according to Thursday’s report, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. It marks Vesttoo’s initial findings into what went wrong at the company. Bertele said in a statement Thursday that he rejects the report’s allegations and that Vesttoo’s investigation “was flawed from the outset and targeted the company’s founders as its objective.” His statement said the investigation was part of a “takeover within the company amidst a dispute between shareholders.” Lifshitz also said the report’s accusations are unfounded and that the investigation was biased and served the interests of other shareholders. Both Bertele and Lifshitz are contesting their dismissals from the company under Israeli law, according to the report.

FTX Group advisers have scrutinized whether they can claw back millions of dollars paid to Shaquille O’Neal, tennis star Naomi Osaka and other professional athletes and teams that promoted Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto platform before its collapse, Bloomberg News reported. Financial advisers hired by FTX disclosed in court papers that they’ve analyzed if certain payments dished out to athletes before the company unraveled last November can be recovered in chapter 11. Advisers have reviewed payments to O’Neal, Osaka and others to determine if the transfers are subject to rules that permit companies to reverse transactions that occurred just before a chapter 11 filing, according to court documents. While not a complete accounting of FTX’s spending on endorsements, the new disclosures likely offer the fullest glimpse to date into how Bankman-Fried’s empire elevated its profile using the fame of celebrity athletes, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association teams and Formula 1. Whether FTX advisers believe all of the payments can be recovered, or if any athletes or teams have already offered to return payments, couldn’t be learned. FTX’s disclosures describe many of the transfers to athletes, teams and leagues as prepayments related to advertising or sponsorship deals. FTX cautioned the financial disclosures may not be complete because the company lacked “detailed historical amortization information” and could be further amended in the future. New FTX Chief Executive Officer John J. Ray III said when the company filed chapter 11, the company lacked trustworthy financial information and didn’t keep complete books and records.

Off Lease Only, a used-car retailer that ran six dealerships in Florida and Texas, filed for bankruptcy after shutting down, succumbing to the pandemic-fueled rise in used-car prices and fresh competition from traditional dealers that had jumped into the secondhand market, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The private company, owned by alternative investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and its founders, closed its operations when its liquidity dried up following deteriorating performance and after online bank Ally Bank tightened the terms and conditions on a credit line that financed the bulk of the company’s inventory, according to court papers filed by Leland Wilson, Off Lease Only’s former chief executive who now serves as an independent contractor for the company. The company started in 2004 and grew to be the biggest used car-dealership in Florida, according to Wilson’s filing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, supply-chain disruptions pushed up vehicle prices and reduced the pool of relatively new used cars available for Off Lease Only. The company’s business model is centered on selling cars that are less than four years old and have been driven less than 40,000 miles, according to the court filing. By the middle of this year, used-car prices remained 40% above the prepandemic level, Wilson also said. Additionally, inflation and high interest rates have reduced customers’ ability to purchase cars, according to the court filing.

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty Thursday in New York federal court to campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes, and agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 billion, CNBC.com reported. Salame, who was released on a $1 million bond, faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing was scheduled for March 6. In addition to the monetary forfeiture, which will be paid to the U.S. government, the 30-year-old Salame will pay $5 million to debtors of FTX. A source told CNBC that Salame is not cooperating with federal prosecutors, who are preparing for the criminal fraud trial of former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried.

A bitter feud between crypto tycoons has piqued the interest of U.S. investigators who were already looking into the finances of one of the industry’s best-known empires, Bloomberg News reported. For months, Digital Currency Group Inc. and its chief executive officer Barry Silbert have been facing fraud accusations from Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of crypto trading platform Gemini Trust Co. Despite them denying the claims, federal officials are digging in as part of an ongoing review of the internal financial dealings of DCG and its Genesis Global Capital subsidiary. Prosecutors in Brooklyn, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff sat in on an interview in recent months with Winklevoss to discuss his allegations, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York inquired specifically about Silbert’s conduct, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential probe. Silbert, who hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing, referred an inquiry to a DCG spokeswoman. The representative for the company, which authorities also haven’t accused of misconduct, declined to comment. In the past, the company has said it operates in a lawful and ethical manner. Investigations by U.S. attorneys, the FBI or the SEC don’t always lead to charges or enforcement actions.

A bankruptcy filing may just be the tip of the iceberg for what's unfolding at Tempe-based Phat Rides Inc. The electric scooter company on Sept. 1 filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But Jeremy Hill, whose company is a key inside stakeholder in the business, is alleging that Tim Moran, the CEO who authorized the bankruptcy filing, had already been fired from Phat Rides after the company fell into default, the Phoenix Business Journal reported. Hill is the founder and managing partner at JB Capital, which helped Phat Rides refinance its debt after Moran took over as CEO in 2021. But that relationship has now turned sour, as JB Capital, based in Bellevue, Washington, has taken over controlling interest of the business, fired Moran and replaced the board, Hill told the Phoenix Business Journal. An injunction against workplace harassment was filed by Phat Rides against Moran on Aug. 25, according to Maricopa County records. The filing, submitted about a week before the bankruptcy, describes Moran as a "former employee" of Phat Rides. An accompanying certificate of service filed Aug. 28 states that Moran was "personally served true copies" of the injunction on Aug. 26 by a court certified process server. The injunction alleges that Moran was fired Aug. 4. Despite that, on Aug. 14 he allegedly "came to the business and was proclaiming that he was still the CEO and that he had only been on vacation."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating billionaire Ryan Cohen’s ownership — and surprise sale — of Bed Bath & Beyond shares at a time when such so-called meme stocks were all the rage with investors, the Wall Street Journal reported. Cohen took a $120 million stake in Bed Bath & Beyond and pushed for changes to the housewares retailer’s sales strategy, but abruptly sold his 11.8% interest in August 2022, just days after tweeting positively about the company. The five-month investment netted him a profit of nearly $60 million. Cohen’s interest in the company spurred a frenzy of trading that caused its stock to soar 34% in a day before collapsing when he disclosed the sales, prior to which he had gotten three new members appointed to the board. The SEC has requested information from Cohen about his trades and his communications with officers or directors at Bed Bath & Beyond. The regulator has also sought records from some of the company’s current and former board members. Cohen founded online pet retailer Chewy and later developed a deep fan base of individual investors who herd into the stocks he buys. He most notably took control in 2021 of video game retailer GameStop, where he currently serves as executive chairman. A group of Bed Bath & Beyond investors sued Cohen last year in Washington, D.C., federal court, alleging he committed fraud because he was aware of bad news about the company that hadn’t been disclosed when he sold his shares. They claim his statements on Twitter and in SEC filings were part of a pump-and-dump strategy that left small investors nursing big losses.

Party City Holdco Inc. on Wednesday received court approval to exit bankruptcy and emerge with a leaner balance sheet, avoiding the fate of retail peers who stumbled in chapter 11 and ceased operations, Bloomberg News reported. The New Jersey-based retailer is set to hand ownership of the company to lenders and reduce its debt load by some $1 billion, according to court papers. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones on Wednesday said he would approve the company’s restructuring plan. “This plan sets the company up for success going forward,” Ken Ziman, an attorney for the company, said during the hearing. “And most important, your honor, this is a plan that preserves thousands of jobs.” Other major retailers have not been so fortunate. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. liquidated after failing to find a way to keep operating after chapter 11. The story is similar for home goods retailer Christmas Tree Shops LLC, while Jenny Craig Inc. opted to go straight into a liquidation after failing to find a rescuer. As part of the chapter 11 process, the company shuttered more than 60 stores across the country, but was able to keep the vast majority of its more than 700 stores open, according to court papers. “It wasn’t a wholesale exiting of lease locations,” said Ziman.

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco LLC sued its parent, Digital Currency Group, seeking to recover about $620 million in outstanding loans despite ongoing settlement talks, Bloomberg News reported. Genesis sued Barry Silbert’s DCG and DCG International Investments Ltd. on Wednesday in New York bankruptcy court but asserted that the companies will keep discussing a potential deal that could end the dispute. The lawsuits were filed after Genesis unveiled a $1.4 billion debt repayment plan backed by some of its customers but which isn’t supported by other key creditors. “Genesis has agreed to stay the turnover action so that we can move forward with documenting the deal in principle that was reached with Genesis, the UCC, and DCG,” a spokesperson for DCG said in an emailed statement. DCG will begin repaying the loans after a standstill agreement is filed with the bankruptcy court, the spokesperson said. The lawsuits concern loans to DCG that Genesis says matured in May. The outstanding debt includes a $500 million loan to DCG and loan to DCGI comprised of about 4,550 Bitcoin, according to the lawsuits. Genesis is also seeking to recover accrued interest and late fees. The complaint comes after months of court-ordered mediation involving Genesis, its key creditors and DCG. Gemini filed chapter 11 in January, following several other large crypto firms into bankruptcy.

Sam Bankman-Fried yesterday lost his bid to be freed immediately from a Brooklyn jail so he could prepare better for his criminal trial, less than a month away, over the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported. In rejecting Bankman-Fried's request, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan nonetheless said that it would ask the next available three-judge panel to consider it. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Aug. 11 revoked Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail after finding that the former billionaire likely tampered with witnesses at least twice. Bankman-Fried quickly appealed, arguing he would be unable to properly prepare for his scheduled Oct. 3 trial from behind bars. Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried stole billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his hedge fund.