Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 1 of 56 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION www.flsb.uscourts.gov In re: Case No. 18-16248-BKC-MAM CHANCE & ANTHEM, LLC, Chapter 7 Debtor. / CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE’S RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION TO EMERGENCY MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER PROHIBITING RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT FINANCIAL INFORMATION [ECF NO. 121] ROBERT C. FURR, the Chapter 7 Trustee for the above-styled Debtor, Chance & Anthem, LLC (the “Debtor”), files his Response to the Emergency Motion for Protective Order Prohibiting the Release of Confidential Client Financial Information [ECF No. 121] (the “Motion”), filed by Jeffrey Siskind, and says: Introduction 1. The Debtor purports to have been in the medical cannabis business (perhaps among others) through its alleged ownership of CannaMed Pharmaceuticals, LLC (“CannaMed”). Mr. Siskind has valued the Debtor’s purported interest CannaMed at over $28 million. [ECF No. 24]. Yet, on the Petition Date, the Debtor only had $48 in its checking account and approximately $150 worth of office equipment. Id. To date, Mr. Siskind has failed to provide any meaningful information to substantiate the value of the Debtor’s alleged interest in CannaMed, or provide a single piece of evidence to suggest that the Debtor was anything more than an artifice designed to enrich Jeffrey Siskind. 2. On June 9, 2018, the Trustee conducted and adjourned, without objection, a Section 341 Meeting of Creditors in this case. Mr. Siskind appeared to testify on behalf of the Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 2 of 56 Debtor. Mr. Siskind was generally evasive, claiming not to recall the source or use of many of the Debtor’s assets and liabilities. Mr. Siskind claimed not to posses any records of the Debtor, despite being its former counsel and sole control person. Perhaps most troubling, Mr. Siskind admitted to commingling Debtor assets in his attorney trust account and under the purported auspices of a “transfer account.” 3. Mr. Siskind also claimed that all pertinent records and trust account ledgers had been stolen by a rogue paralegal. See 07/09/18 341 Hr’g Trans., a copy of which is annexed hereto as Exhibit “A” (“341 Trans.”) at pp. 11:18-24; 12:1-9; 27:8-14. 4. Accordingly, it is necessary for the Trustee to reconstruct the trust account records to evaluate whether the Debtor has any claims that arise form transactions involving Mr. Siskind’s trust account. The Debtor allegedly had only one single bank account at JP Morgan Chase (the “Debtor Account”). See Schedule A at ECF Nos. 11, 59. Nonetheless, Siskind testified to utilizing his trust account for transactions involving the Debtor in at least three separate instances where the proceeds of said transactions cannot be reconciled with banks statements. 5. The first instance relates to a mortgage owned by the Debtor that Siskind sold to his business associate Frank Zokaites for $25,000 on October 12, 2017. This transaction was not disclosed in the Debtor’s Statement of Financial affairs. See ECF No. 11. Nonetheless, when Mr. Siskind was asked about this transaction at the Debtor’s 341 meeting, he testified that monies generated from the sale were deposited in his law firm through a “transfer account.” Yet, those cannot be reconciled with a contemporaneous transfer from the trust account to the Debtor’s Bank Account. See 341 Trans. at pp. 16:23-18:9. 2 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 3 of 56 Q. What consideration did Chance & Anthem receive for the sale of that note and mortgage, if any? A. The tot -- Frank Zakitis who bought that note and mortgage, is that what you mean? Q. Yes. A. Received, I believe, a total of $25,000. Q. Who received $25,000? A. I'm thinking that it went into the law firm, yeah. Q. So when you sold Chance & Anthem's $25,000 mortgage and promissory note, Frank Zakitis paid your law firm $25,000? A. Well, I'm certain that he paid the 25 -- well, not a hundred percent certain of the amount, but approximately $25,000, and I believe they all went through a transfer account into my law firm. Q. Okay. MR. FURR: Q. What's a "transfer account"? THE WITNESS: A: It's just an account that was set up to handle transactions between the law firm and Frank Zakitis. Q. And is that a separate account? A. Q. Yeah. And where is that account located? A. PNC Bank. Q. What's the name of the account? A. Siskind Legal Services, LLC. 3 Case 18-16248-MAM 6. Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 4 of 56 Q: And it's only used to transfer monies between your law firm and other parties? A: Q: That's why it originally existed. Frank Zakitis is located in Pittsburgh, and when he would pay bills, he would pay them at PNC. He kept the account at PNC down here. And that PNC account, is that still open? A. Yeah. Mr. Siskind also testified that money purportedly invested by Carl Stone in the Debtor was deposited in his attorney trust account. Again, those funds cannot be reconciled with a corresponding deposit in the Debtor Bank Account. 341 Trans. at p. 19:2-15 (emphasis supplied). 7. Q: Who were those private lenders? A: I believe one member was Richard Niff, and another one was Carl Stone and/or David Fiore. Q. Were monies from Richard Niff and David Fiore deposited into Chance & Anthem's bank account at J.P. Morgan? A. I don't believe so, no. Q. All right. Where were those monies funded from for that purchase? A. Oh, I think one was. Yeah, I think Mr. Neff's money did go through the Chance & Anthem account. Don't hold me to that, but I'm pretty sure that's where that, and then Carl Stone's money was deposited into my attorney trust account. Mr. Siskind also testified that money purportedly invested by Mr. Volkwein in the Debtor was also deposited in his attorney trust account. And yet again, those funds cannot be reconciled with a corresponding deposit in the Debtor Bank Account. 341 Trans. at p. 25:2-25 (emphasis supplied). Q: And how much money did Mr. Volkwein lend to Chance & Anthem? 4 Case 18-16248-MAM 8. Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 5 of 56 A. Well, according to my records $500,000. Q. All right, and how was that loan documented? A. I don't remember. I remember that I have a or had a power of attorney from Mr. Volkwein. Those funds came from properties that he sold at some point, which my firm handled the sale transaction of. Q. And where were the funds loaned by Mr. Volkwein deposited? A. I don't recall. I imagine they ran through my trust account, since we did the closing. Well, we didn't do the closing, but we represented him in the closing of the sale of properties he had in West Palm Beach. Q. And you represented him in the loan that he made to Chance & Anthem? A. No, I don't believe so. Q. Was he represented by anyone in connection with the loan he made to Chance & Anthem? A. No. Q. What were the terms of the loan he made to Chance & Anthem? A. I don't remember. Finally, Siskind testified that his attorney trust account bank records were used by him to prepare reconciliations of transactions involving the Debtor. The reconciliations, however, are now missing and Siskind has no ability to produce contemporaneous records to identify these transactions. Q. And what were Mr. Volkwein's $500,000 used for? A. I don't recall. At some point the history of his interest, I provided him with paperwork on that, but beyond that you'd have to ask him. Q. What paperwork did you provide him? A. Just a disbursement sheet as to where his money was used. 5 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 6 of 56 Q. How was that disbursement sheet generated? A. By hand by me. Q. And what documents would you have reviewed to generate that disbursement sheet? A. It was more or less a ledger that I kept on him that I would update from time to time. Q. What documents would you use to create that ledger? A. Just my bank records at the time. Q. The bank records of Chance & Anthem? A. I don't remember whether I ever utilized Chance & Anthem's records to facilitate that report, no. Q. Would those have been your trust account records? A. Some would have been, yeah. Q. All right. So other than your trust account records and Chance & Anthem records, if at all, what other records would you have reviewed to create that ledger? A. I don't remember what bank account records, were involved in the review, but the one-page report that I gave was accurate. Q. Whatever happened to that ledger? A. It was with the books and records that were in my files when we vacated the office at 525 South Flagler. Q. Those are the ones that you've testified Mr. Gibson took possession of? A. I believe he removed them, yes. Q. Have you filed a police report for the 16 missing files? A. No, I didn't think the police report would be availing, because I did give him permission to take all of the dead files, and the understanding was the 6 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 7 of 56 live files would come out to the project house in Santa Barbara, and the dead files, rather than discard them, he would remove and keep in his garage at his house. 9. In the Motion, Siskind protests that his attorney trust account records should be protected from production because the release of this information is “contrary to and violates the confidentiality and reasonably expected protection of proprietary information afforded to the undersigned’s legal clients by virtue of the attorney-client relationship.” Motion at ¶3. 10. As a threshold matter this argument should be viewed in the light of the fundamental principle that “the party invoking the privilege has the burden of establishing the existence of the attorney-client relationship and the confidential nature of the communication.” In re Grand Jury Proceedings (Freeman), 708 F.2d 1571, 1575 (11th Cir.1983), citing United States v. Kelly, 569 F.2d 928, 938 (5th Cir.) cert. denied 439 U.S. 829, 99 S.Ct. 105, 58 L.Ed.2d 123 (1978). Mr. Siskind fails to make either show. And he cannot. There are no communications between Mr. Siskind and any of his alleged clients. 11. Additionally, the fact that transfers occurred in and out of a bank account is not a fact protected by the attorney-client privilege. See, Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 395, 101 S. Ct. 677, 685, 66 L. Ed. 2d 584 (1981)(the attorney-client privilege only protects disclosure of communications; it does not protect disclosure of the underlying facts by those who communicated with the attorney). 12. Additionally, the Trustee’s forensic accountants have identified the following transactions that require additional review of the trust account records including (1) a cash deposit in the amount of $725,000 on October 22, 2015; (2) numerous deposits from the trust account into the Debtor’s Bank Account totaling over $200,000; (3) a check from the Debtor’s 7 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 8 of 56 Bank Account in the amount of $5,000 to the trust account; and (4) a $750,000 deposit on October 6, 2015 into the Debtors account, of a cashier’s check issued by Wells Fargo Bank NA that indicates Jeffrey Siskind is the remitter. 13. The Trustee is entitled to examine the providence of these deposits, including the source of funds originating from the trust account trust account and the disposition of assets Mr. Siskind has testified were deposited in his trust account but belonged to the Debtor. Also, there are additional numerous cash withdrawals and deposits in and out of the Debtor’s Bank Account that remain unreconciled. 14. The Trustee’s counsel attempted to confer with Mr. Siskind regarding the relief sought in his Motion in order to devise an appropriate protocol to review the subject records. The Trustee is not, however, required to accept Mr. Siskind’s representations as to the nature and extent of the transactions involving his trust account. A copy of the communication is annexed as Exhibit “B”. WHEREFORE, the Trustee respectfully requests the Court deny the Motion, and for such other and further relief as the Court deems necessary and appropriate. Respectfully submitted this 24th day of August, 2018. GENOVESE JOBLOVE & BATTISTA, P.A. Attorneys for Chapter 7 Trustee Robert C. Furr 100 S.E. Second Street, 44th Floor Miami, Floirda 33131 Telephone: (305) 349-2300 Telecopier: (305) 349-2310 By: /s/ Jesus M. Suarez Jesus M. Suarez, Esq. Florida Bar No. 60086 jsuarez@gjb-law.com 8 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 9 of 56 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served via CM/ECF Notification to all parties registered to receive electronic notice and/or U.S. Mail as indicated on the attached Service List on August 24, 2018. /s Jesus M. Suarez Jesus M. Suarez, Esq. SERVICE LIST Parties to receive electronic notice via CM/ECF Robert C Furr danderson@furrcohen.com, rcf@trustesolutions.net John H Genovese, Esq on behalf of Trustee Robert C Furr jgenovese@gjb-law.com, hburke@gjb-law.com;gjbecf@gjblaw.com;gjbecf@ecf.courtdrive.com;jzamora@gjb-law.com Steven S. Newburgh: snewburgh@mclaughlinstern.com Office of the US Trustee: USTPRegion21.MM.ECF@usdoj.gov Jeffrey M Siskind on behalf of Debtor Chance & Anthem, LLC jeffsiskind@msn.com, jmsesq500@gmail.com Jeffrey M Siskind on behalf of Interested Party Jeffrey M Siskind jeffsiskind@msn.com, jmsesq500@gmail.com Jesus M Suarez on behalf of Trustee Robert C Furr jsuarez@gjb-law.com, gjbecf@gjb-law.com;chopkins@gjb-law.com;jzamora@gjblaw.com;ecastellanos@gjb-law.com;gjbecf@ecf.courtdrive.com 9 . Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Parties to receive notice via U.S. Mail Alan Barbee 1400 Centrepark Blvd #860 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Robert Grossbart on behalf of Creditor David Fiore Grossbart, Portney & Rosenberg One N. Charles Street. Suite 1214 Baltimore, MD 21201 10 Page 10 of 56 Case Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 11 of 56 EXHIBIT 11 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 12 of 56 Page 1 1 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 2 3 IN RE: CASE NO. 18-16248-MAM 4 CHANCE & ANTHEM, LLC 5 6 Debtor. ________________________________/ 7 8 9 341 MEETING OF CREDITORS July 9, 2018 10 The above-entitled cause came on for a Section 11 341 Meeting of Creditors before ROBERT FURR, one of the 12 trustees in the UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT, in and for 13 the SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, at 1515 North Flagler 14 Dr., West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida on July 15 9, 2018, commencing at or about 8:30 a.m., and the 16 following proceedings were had. 17 18 19 20 21 Transcribed from a digital recording by: Cheryl L. Jenkins, RPR, RMR 22 23 24 25 OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 13 of 56 Page 2 1 2 3 APPEARANCES: ROBERT FURR, Trustee 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 GENOVESE JOBLOVE & BATTISTA, by JESUS M. SUAREZ, Esquire On behalf of the Trustee TRENT SWIFT, Esquire On behalf of Richard Niff MAX ARESTY, Esquire On behalf of Frederick Volkwein SOFIYE WILLIAMS, Esquire On behalf of Carl Stone - - - - - - WITNESS Jeffrey Siskind Examination by Mr. Furr Examination by Mr. Suarez Examination by Mr. Swift Examination by Mr. Aresty Examination by Mr. Williams Page 3 11 31 33 37 OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 14 of 56 Page 3 1 2 MR. FURR: Number 18-16248, Chance & Anthem, LLC. 3 4 Trustee calls Case MR. SISKIND: Do you want me on this side, Robert? 5 MR. FURR: 6 Please raise your right hand. 7 Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole 8 truth and nothing but the truth? 9 10 Right there is fine. MR. SISKIND: I do. Thereupon, 11 JEFFREY SISKIND, 12 having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified 13 as follows: 14 MR. FURR: For the record I've verified 15 Mr. Siskind's address, and identity and will return it 16 back to him, and I also know him. 17 EXAMINATION 18 BY MR. FURR: 19 Q. Please state your name. 20 A. Jeffrey Mark Siskind. 21 Q. Mr. Siskind, what's your position with 22 Chance & Anthem? 23 A. I was the managing member. 24 Q. Did you file this bankruptcy up in Baltimore 25 originally? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 15 of 56 Page 4 1 A. In Maryland, yes. 2 Q. In Maryland. A. Well, that's a legal question. 3 Are you still the managing member? 4 5 could answer it better than I can. 6 managing member. I guess you I was the last 7 Q. Okay. 8 A. No, I did not. 9 Q. In Baltimore you filed the petition, and 10 No one -- you didn't resign? when you signed the petition, did you sign it? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. As the managing member? 13 A. Either as that or counsel to the --- 14 Q. Okay. 15 I just see your signature on there on February the 12th, 2018. That's your signature? 16 A. Well, the petition had my signature. 17 Q. Let me just show you, make sure you 18 understand. 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. The one right there. Okay, and the 21 information in the original petition, summary of assets, 22 schedules of assets, were those true and correct? 23 24 25 A. To the best of my knowledge at the time, Q. Do you wish to make any amendments to those yes. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 16 of 56 Page 5 1 schedules? 2 A. We're going to make amendments, yes. 3 Q. Okay, and you say "we", does that mean 4 somebody else with you? 5 A. The company "we". 6 Q. Right. 7 8 9 I should say I. Can you tell me when Chance & Anthem was formed? A. No, I don't remember when it was formed, but it's on the SunBiz site. 10 Q. Okay, and did you form it? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. So what in these schedules is inaccurate 13 that you listed on the original schedules, petition and 14 statement of financial affairs, or are you going add more 15 information to it? 16 A. We're going to add information, but I 17 remember that there was a date that was incorrect as to 18 when we vacated a property in Maryland that the company 19 was utilizing. 20 21 Q. All right. Has Chance & Anthem ever filed tax returns? 22 A. No, it never made any money. 23 Q. I didn't ask that. 24 25 I said, did it ever file tax returns -A. No. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 17 of 56 Page 6 1 Q. 2 -- and you should know. Okay. There was a tax return -- there was a 3 significant claim filed, one claim filed in the case so 4 far by Del Marva Power in Carney's Point, New Jersey. 5 looks like a power company. It 6 A. Correct. 7 Q. And this is an electric bill for property at 8 27120 Ocean Gateway, or Gtwy, in Hebron, Maryland. 9 you tell me, are you familiar with that address? Can 10 A. Certainly. 11 Q. And what is that, what building or property 12 is located there? 13 A. There is a 47,000-square foot building, 14 approximately, located on just under seven acres, which 15 the company had a lease purchase agreement -- 16 Q. Okay. 17 A. -- on. 18 Q. And who are they lease purchasing it from? 19 A. 27120 Ocean Gateway, LLC. 20 Q. Who owns that company, that was Ocean 21 Gateway company you just mentioned? 22 A. That company is owned by a fellow by the 23 name of Alan Bias. 24 Q. How do you spell Mr. Bias' last name? 25 A. B-i-a-s. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 18 of 56 Page 7 1 Q. And who is Mr. Bias, do you know him? 2 A. Yes. 3 Q. Business associate of yours? 4 A. No, except for that deal. 5 Q. Okay. 6 A. Yes, arm's length third party. 7 Q. And then was there actually a written lease 8 A total third party? for that? 9 A. There was a lease option agreement, yes. 10 Q. And do you have a copy of that lease option 11 agreement? 12 A. I don't know if I still have a copy, but I'm 13 sure that Mr. Bias would be more than willing to give it 14 to you. 15 Q. And can you tell me the terms of the lease 16 option agreement? 17 A. I think it was monthly payments of about 18 7,361, if my memory serves me correctly, and then there 19 was an option for a buyout at, I think it was 700,000. 20 might have been 750,000. 21 Q. It And did you pay a down payment on that lease 22 option when you signed it? 23 behalf of Chance & Anthem? I assume you signed it on 24 A. Yes. 25 Q. So when you signed it, did you put down OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 19 of 56 Page 8 1 $100,000, 50,000, or some amount of money as a deposit? 2 3 A. building was purchased. 4 5 I think we put down $300,000 when the Q. Okay. So was the building actually in the name of Chance & Anthem? 6 A. Never. 7 Q. So it wasn't purchased? 8 A. The building was purchased by 27120 Ocean 9 10 Gateway, LLC from a company, a gas company up there that owned it. 11 Q. Okay, and so --- 12 A. Wait a minute. 13 correctly, that's the way it was structured. 14 15 Q. A. Well, I believe Chance & Anthem put that money down. 18 19 Okay, and so you put the $300,000 down, you being Chance & Anthem? 16 17 If my memory serves me Q. Okay, and so the building was not purchased in Chance & Anthem's name? 20 A. No. 21 Q. The name of the other company? 22 A. Correct. 23 guess it would have to have been yeah. 24 25 Well, let me think about that. Q. Yes, yes. Okay, and who is occupying that building today? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 I Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 20 of 56 Page 9 1 A. I have no idea. 2 Q. When was the last time you were there? 3 A. I don't remember, whenever I thought that we 4 vacated it, I guess, is the last time. 5 Q. At the height of your occupancy, or Chance & 6 Anthem's occupancy of the building, if I went there, would 7 I find a staff of people working there? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Would I find the marijuana growing 10 operation? 11 A. 12 no plants on site. 13 Q. 14 It would have been. It was not. There were But that's what you were going to do in the building, was grow marijuana in it? 15 A. Correct. 16 Q. But you never did? 17 A. Correct. 18 Q. So what did you actually do there other than 19 just open up an office? 20 A. We were renovating the building. 21 Q. Okay. 22 How much did you spend on the renovation? 23 A. I don't remember. 24 Q. Would it be Chance & Anthem that spent the 25 money? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 21 of 56 Page 10 1 A. I believe so. 2 Q. Would Chance & Anthem's bank records, the 3 4 bank checkbook show the payments for the renovation? A. It should. It might not show all of them, 5 but there were payments to individuals who were working on 6 the site, subcontractors, you should see those, yeah. 7 8 Q. And those -- was there a separate checking account in Maryland for that purpose? 9 A. No. 10 Q. Just the checking account for the company 11 12 13 14 15 here that you've already provided us? A. Yeah, there were no other accounts in other -- out of state. Q. Are there any other unpaid utility bills such as this? 16 A. Utility bills? 17 Q. Yes. 18 A. Well, let's see, there is a little over $800 19 due a trash disposal company. 20 Q. Right. 21 A. And are you asking that question regarding 22 that specific property only? 23 Q. No, anything. 24 A. Anything, okay. 25 There is a pool service company that's owed money, $600. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 22 of 56 Page 11 1 Q. Pool service? 2 A. Uh-huh. 3 Q. Did the company have a swimming pool? 4 A. No, the project that we had in Florida, 5 which was the renovation of a house, has a pool. 6 7 Q. Okay. Did Chance & Anthem own a house in Florida in was renovating? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Did it actually have a house in its name? 10 A. I believe so. 11 MR. FURR: I've got an attorney here, 12 Mr. Suarez, who is going to ask you a few questions. 13 going to turn it over to him, and then there may be some 14 creditors here. 15 you are a creditor. 16 17 You're also welcome to ask questions if EXAMINATION BY MR. SUAREZ: 18 Q. So, Mr. Siskind, good morning. 19 before. 20 counsel to the Chapter 7 trustee. My name is Jesus Suarez. 21 22 23 24 25 I'm We've met My firm is proposed Does Chance & Anthem have any books and records? A. There were books and records which were removed from my office at one point in time, yes. Q. Where were they moved to? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 23 of 56 Page 12 1 A. I don't know. 2 Q. Who removed them? 3 A. Robert Gibson. 4 Q. All right, and why did Mr. Gibson remove A. He took all my files. 5 them? 6 He was supposed to 7 only take the dead files, but when I went into the 8 cabinet, which I thought contained my live files, it was 9 empty. 10 Q. All right, and did you ever use a computer 11 to transact business for Chance & Anthem or send emails on 12 behalf of --- 13 A. Correspondence, emails, yes. 14 Q. From what email address? 15 A. Just from my personal address. 16 Q. What email address is that? 17 A. JeffSiskind@msn.com. 18 Q. Did you use any other electronic form of 19 communication on behalf of Chance & Anthem? 20 A. No. 21 Q. In the debtor's schedules you listed a 22 computer, a printer and a monitor belonging to Chance & 23 Anthem with an estimated value of $150. 24 A. Correct. 25 Q. Where is that right now? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 24 of 56 Page 13 1 2 A. The last I saw it it was in the facility in Maryland. 3 Q. What facility in Maryland is that? 4 A. The building that we were talking about, 5 which is located at 27120 Ocean Gateway. 6 7 Q. And was that facility vacated before April of 2018? 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. All right. 10 11 So the last time you saw those books and records was before April of 2018? A. No, that's the last time I saw the computer. 12 I don't remember when the last time I saw the books and 13 records was. 14 Q. I'm sorry, the computer. 15 A. Yes. 16 Q. Where is that computer right now? 17 A. I have no idea. 18 Q. You left it in the warehouse in Maryland? 19 A. As I stated, the last time I saw it it was 20 21 22 in the warehouse in Maryland. Q. All right, and you turned over the warehouse in Maryland to Ocean Gateway, is that correct? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. All right, and at that time --- 25 A. When you say Ocean Gateway, you mean the OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 25 of 56 Page 14 1 LLC, 27120 Ocean Gateway, LLC? 2 Q. Owned by Mr. Bias. 3 A. I believe it's owned by Mr. Bias. It's, I 4 believe, a Fla -- well, it might be a Maryland limited 5 liability company, but they have the same sort of on-line 6 service that you can check to get whatever information you 7 need about it. 8 Q. Do you have any interest in that entity? 9 A. No. 10 11 MR. FURR: Mr. Bias? 12 13 THE WITNESS: No. MR. FURR: Would you please get that for me -- 16 THE WITNESS: 17 MR. FURR: 18 19 I do, I can get it for you. 14 15 Do you have a phone number for Sure. -- so I can contact him. BY MR. SUAREZ: Q. On October 12th, 2017, Chance & Anthem 20 transferred and assigned a promissory note and mortgage 21 encumbering property in Cross Creek, owned by Mr. and 22 Mrs. Emmet Tias (phonetic) and Zoreda Mohammed (phonetic). 23 Are you familiar with them? 24 A. Sure. 25 Q. All right. How did the debtor come to own OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 26 of 56 Page 15 1 2 3 that note and mortgage? A. The debtor bought that note and mortgage from an individual lender named George Maylor (phonetic). 4 Q. 5 note and mortgage? 6 A. $27,250. 7 Q. And where did that money come from? 8 A. I don't recall. 9 Q. Would it have been paid from the debtor's 10 11 12 13 And how much did the debtor pay for that bank account at JP Morgan? A. I think so. I'm not totally positive, but probably. Q. All right. If it wasn't paid from the 14 debtor's bank account at J.P. Morgan, where would it have 15 been paid from? 16 17 18 19 A. I don't know. It might have been my law office account. Q. All right, and when would it have been paid from by your law office account? 20 A. I have no idea why --- 21 Q. Was your law office account holding monies 22 23 for Chance & Anthem? A. Not that I recall, but we represented George 24 Maylor, and of course we also represented Chance & Anthem, 25 which I owned a hundred percent of. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 27 of 56 Page 16 1 Q. When you say "we", who is "we"? 2 A. The company "we". 3 that. Forgive me, I always say I. 4 Q. Who is the company "we"? 5 A. Siskind Legal. 6 Q. Is that an LLC? 7 A. Siskind Legal Services, LLC did exist at one 8 time, but it's lapsed. 9 Q. All right. So when you say that the 10 company, we, paid for Chance & Anthem's purchase of this 11 mortgage, that it came from the law firm, what law firm is 12 that? 13 14 A. from there. 15 16 Well, it's my law firm, if it indeed came I'd have to look. Q. Okay. So it might have come from somewhere A. It could have, but it's not hard to figure else? 17 18 out where it came from. 19 check. 20 21 Q. I'm sure I have a record of that And you represented Chance & Anthem in that transaction? 22 A. Correct. 23 Q. What consideration did Chance & Anthem 24 25 receive for the sale of that note and mortgage, if any? A. The tot -- Frank Zakitis who bought that OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 28 of 56 Page 17 1 note and mortgage, is that what you mean? 2 Q. Yes. 3 A. Received, I believe, a total of $25,000. 4 Q. Who received $25,000? 5 A. I'm thinking that it went into the law firm, Q. So when you sold Chance & Anthem's $25,000 6 yeah. 7 8 mortgage and promissory note, Frank Zakitis paid your law 9 firm $25,000? 10 A. Well, I'm certain that he paid the 25 -- 11 well, not a hundred percent certain of the amount, but 12 approximately $25,000, and I believe they all went through 13 a transfer account into my law firm. 14 Q. Okay. 15 MR. FURR: What's a "transfer account"? 16 THE WITNESS: It's just an account that was 17 set up to handle transactions between the law firm and 18 Frank Zakitis. 19 MR. FURR: 20 THE WITNESS: 21 MR. FURR: 22 And is that a separate account? Yeah. And where is that account located? 23 THE WITNESS: 24 MR. FURR: 25 THE WITNESS: PNC Bank. What's the name of the account? Siskind Legal Services, LLC. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 29 of 56 Page 18 1 2 MR. FURR: And it's only used to transfer monies between your law firm and other parties? 3 THE WITNESS: That's why it originally 4 existed. Frank Zakitis is located in Pittsburgh, and when 5 he would pay bills, he would pay them at PNC. 6 account at PNC down here. 7 8 MR. FURR: THE WITNESS: 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 And that PNC account, is that still open? 9 11 He kept the MR. FURR: Yeah. Sorry. BY MR. SUAREZ: Q. On August 25th, 2015, the debtor bought real estate at 3445 Santa Barbara Drive, is that correct? A. I'm not sure of the date, but that's the project house that we were talking about. Q. All right, and what do you mean by the "project house"? A. It's a house that was purchased from J.P. Morgan Chase to renovate and sell. Q. And what was the source of funds used to purchase that house? A. I don't remember exactly, but we paid approximately $1,250,000 for it. 24 Q. Where did that million two fifty come from? 25 A. I don't remember. Give me a moment. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 I can Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 30 of 56 Page 19 1 probably think. Private lenders. 2 Q. Who were those private lenders? 3 A. I believe one member was Richard Niff, and 4 another one was Carl Stone and/or David Fiore. 5 Q. Were monies from Richard Niff and 6 David Fiore deposited into Chance & Anthem's bank account 7 at J.P. Morgan? 8 A. I don't believe so, no. 9 Q. All right. 10 Where were those monies funded from for that purchase? 11 A. Oh, I think one was. Yeah, I think 12 Mr. Neff's money did go through the Chance & Anthem 13 account. 14 that's where that, and then Carl Stone's money was 15 deposited into my attorney trust account. 16 17 Don't hold me to that, but I'm pretty sure Q. Were those investments in Chance & Anthem documented? 18 A. Sure. 19 Q. How were they documented? 20 A. I don't remember. 21 Q. Did you represent Chance & Anthem in 22 23 24 25 documenting those transactions? A. Well, there was no one else to represent Chance & Anthem, so I guess you could say that I did. Q. Did you represent Mr. Neff in documenting OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 31 of 56 Page 20 1 those transactions? 2 A. No. 3 Q. Did you represent Mr. Stone or Mr. Fiore in 4 documenting those transactions? 5 A. No. 6 Q. Have you ever represented Mr. Stone or 7 Mr. Fiore? 8 A. No, as to Stone. 9 Q. All right. 10 Yes, as to Fiore. Did you represent Mr. Fiore in any matters related to Chance & Anthem? 11 A. Not that I recall, no. 12 Q. Chance & Anthem took a mortgage out from New 13 Wave Loans Residential, LLC in about November of 2015 -- 14 A. I don't recall -- 15 Q. -- is that correct? 16 A. -- the date, but that was a mortgage that we 17 borrowed, yeah, against the project house. 18 Q. When you say "we", who do you mean "we"? 19 A. Chance & Anthem. 20 Q. Okay, and where were those funds deposited? 21 A. I don't remember. 22 Q. Would they have been deposited at the 23 debtor's bank account at J.P. Morgan? 24 A. I don't remember. 25 Q. Is there anywhere else, besides the debtor's OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 32 of 56 Page 21 1 bank account, where they would have been deposited? 2 A. I don't remember where they were deposited. 3 Q. All right, and what were those funds used A. They were used toward the Maryland marijuana 4 5 6 7 for? growing project. Q. What you say the marijuana growing project 8 in Maryland, do you mean the marijuana project that 9 Cannamed Pharmaceuticals was -- 10 A. Correct. 11 Q. -- operating? 12 13 14 15 In March --A. Well, let's stop, not operating, but developing. Q. 16 Okay, developing. What was the difference between the debtor 17 and Cannamed Pharmaceuticals, what did the debtor do in 18 Maryland, and what did Cannamed Pharmaceuticals do? 19 20 21 22 A. The debtor owns 70 percent of Cannamed Pharmaceuticals. Q. Okay. Is the debtor's ownership in Cannamed Pharmaceuticals documented in any way? 23 A. It was. 24 Q. How? 25 A. There is a certificate of, I don't know what OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 33 of 56 Page 22 1 you call it, because it's an LLC, a unit interest 2 certificate. 3 Q. And where is that --- 4 A. With the files that are missing. 5 Q. Did you ever have those on a computer? 6 A. No. 7 Q. Did you ever email them to anybody? 8 A. No. 9 When you saw "them", you're talking about the certificates -- 10 Q. The certificates. 11 A. -- in favor of --- 12 Q. Sure. 13 A. No. 14 Q. Who owned the other 30 percent of Cannamed? 15 A. I personally own 5 percent, still do. An 16 individual by the name of Bruce Lowe owns 5 percent, and 17 the rest I don't recall. 18 Q. On March 23rd of 2016 there was a mortgage 19 recorded in favor of EBK South Properties, LLC against the 20 Santa Barbara house -- 21 A. Correct. 22 Q. -- for about a half a million dollars, 23 24 25 $500,000. A. No. There was a line of credit, I think the actual borrowing against that house was, if memory serves OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 34 of 56 Page 23 1 me correctly, 160,000. 2 Q. And where were those $160,000 deposited? 3 A. I don't remember, but the funds were used 4 for Cannamed. 5 Q. For Cannamed? 6 A. On behalf of -- yeah, payment of Cannamed 7 8 9 expenses, to the best of my recollection. Q. Were the funds deposited in Chance & Anthem's account at J.P. Morgan? 10 A. I don't remember where those were deposited. 11 Q. Why was Chance & Anthem funding Cannamed's 12 13 expenses? A. Because that was the agreement, Chance & 14 Anthem assisted -- Cannamed had no income, so Chance & 15 Anthem provided all the funding that Cannamed needed. 16 17 Q. Why was Cannamed incapable of procuring that funding for itself? 18 A. It was more or less a shell company. 19 Q. Did Chance & Anthem ever have any income? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Did Chance & Anthem have any business 22 operations? 23 A. Other than what we've discussed, no. 24 Q. Did Chance & Anthem ever sell anything? 25 A. That one mortgage that we spoke about. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 35 of 56 Page 24 1 Q. Did Chance & Anthem ever produce anything? 2 A. What do you mean by produce? 3 Q. Did it ever make anything? 4 A. Actually make a tangible product, no. 5 Q. Okay. 6 You said there was an agreement between Chance & Anthem and Cannamed? 7 A. Yes. 8 Q. How was that agreement documented? 9 A. There was a document which required Chance & 10 Anthem to fund Cannamed in exchange for its unit 11 interests. 12 Q. And where can I find that document? 13 A. With all the other documents that are taken 14 from my office by Mr. Gibson. 15 Q. That document was never scanned? 16 A. No. 17 Q. Was never emailed to anybody? 18 A. Not that I recall, no. 19 Q. So it would only have ever existed in a hard A. Yes, and it was a one-page piece of paper, I 20 21 22 file? remember looking at it. 23 Q. Whose Fredrick Volkwein? 24 A. He is a valid creditor of Chance & Anthem. 25 He's an individual who I've known for probably 30 years OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 36 of 56 Page 25 1 here in West Palm Beach. 2 3 Q. And how much money did Mr. Volkwein lend to Chance & Anthem? 4 A. Well, according to my records $500,000. 5 Q. All right, and how was that loan documented? 6 A. I don't remember. I remember that I have a 7 -- or had a power of attorney from Mr. Volkwein. 8 funds came from properties that he sold at some point, 9 which my firm handled the sale transaction of. 10 11 Q. Those And where were the funds loaned by Mr. Volkwein deposited? 12 A. I don't recall. I imagine they ran through 13 my trust account, since we did the closing. 14 didn't do the closing, but we represented him in the 15 closing of the sale of properties he had in West Palm 16 Beach. 17 18 Q. Well, we And you represented him in the loan that he made to Chance & Anthem? 19 A. No, I don't believe so. 20 Q. Was he represented by anyone in connection 21 with the loan he made to Chance & Anthem? 22 A. No. 23 Q. What were the terms of the loan he made to 24 25 Chance & Anthem? A. I don't remember. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 37 of 56 Page 26 1 Q. Who would know? 2 A. I would know if I had the ability to look at 3 the file, but -- or Fred would know. 4 5 Q. And what were Mr. Volkwein's $500,000 used A. I don't recall. for? 6 At some point the history 7 of his interest, I provided him with paperwork on that, 8 but beyond that you'd have to ask him. 9 Q. What paperwork did you provide him? 10 A. Just a disbursement sheet as to where his 11 money was used. 12 Q. How was that disbursement sheet generated? 13 A. By hand by me. 14 Q. And what documents would you have reviewed 15 to generate that disbursement sheet? 16 17 A. It was more or less a ledger that I kept on him that I would update from time to time. 18 Q. What documents would you use to create that 20 A. Just my bank records at the time. 21 Q. The bank records of Chance & Anthem? 22 A. I don't remember whether I ever utilized 19 23 ledger? Chance & Anthem's records to facilitate that report, no. 24 25 Q. Would those have been your trust account records? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 38 of 56 Page 27 1 A. Some would have been, yeah. 2 Q. All right. So other than your trust account 3 records and Chance & Anthem records, if at all, what other 4 records would you have reviewed to create that ledger? 5 A. I don't remember what bank account records 6 were involved in the review, but the one-page report that 7 I gave was accurate. 8 Q. Whatever happened to that ledger? 9 A. It was with the books and records that were 10 in my files when we vacated the office at 525 South 11 Flagler. 12 13 Q. Those are the ones that you've testified Mr. Gibson took possession of? 14 A. I believe he removed them, yes. 15 Q. Have you filed a police report for the 16 missing files? 17 A. No, I didn't think the police report would 18 be availing, because I did give him permission to take all 19 of the dead files, and the understanding was the live 20 files would come out to the project house in Santa 21 Barbara, and the dead files, rather than discard them, he 22 would remove and keep in his garage at his house. 23 24 25 Q. What's the current status of the project A. The project house is owned by a company house? OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 39 of 56 Page 28 1 controlled by Frank Zakitis, and it has been sitting 2 because of permit issues, but I understand that the plans 3 were just approved, and the permit should be issued today 4 or later this week. 5 6 Q. What's your current involvement with the project house? 7 A. I don't have any official involvement with 8 that house. 9 an eye on it. 10 It's located next to my house, so I do keep Q. What's your unofficial involvement with the 12 A. Just keep an eye on it. 13 Q. Do you have any interest in the house? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Do you have any agreement with Mr. Zakitis 11 16 house? concerning the disposition of that house? 17 A. Nothing in writing. 18 Q. Do you have any agreement that's not in 19 20 writing concerning the disposition of that house? A. Well, nothing that's enforceable since it 21 pertains to real estate, and would be barred by the 22 statute of frauds if it wasn't in writing. 23 24 25 Q. That's not the question I'm asking. I'm asking what the agreement is. A. There is no official agreement. I hope that OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 40 of 56 Page 29 1 Frank will make some money on the house when he sells it, 2 and that he will do something for my creditors. 3 Q. Okay. Well, considering that Mr. Furr is 4 the trustee of those creditors, we'd like to know what the 5 unofficial agreement is, or what understanding you might 6 have, or what your expectation might be of what 7 Mr. Zakitis will do once he sells the house. 8 9 A. I don't have any expectation. There is no articulated agreement at this point. 10 Q. Is there an unarticulated agreement? 11 A. No. 12 Q. Okay. Well, you've defined it as an 13 articulated agreement. I was simply trying to define 14 whether there was an unarticulated or unofficial 15 agreement. 16 A. Well, I mean, you know, Frank and I have 17 been friends for 25 years. So we talk a lot, but whether 18 you could say that there was an enforceable agreement from 19 those conversations, the answer would be no. 20 Q. Are you Frank's lawyer? 21 A. I have been, yeah, on different things. 22 23 24 25 He has many lawyers that help him. Q. Do you represent him in connection with any matters having to do with Chance & Anthem? A. Yes. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 41 of 56 Page 30 1 Q. What matters? 2 A. Well, no, I represented him in a mortgage 3 foreclosure suit against the Mohammeds, which mortgage was 4 once held by Chance & Anthem. 5 6 Q. Any other matters related to Chance & Anthem where you represented Mr. Zakitis? 7 A. Not that I recall. 8 Q. Are there any communications with 9 Mr. Zakitis concerning the Mohammeds' mortgage? 10 A. Oh, sure. Every time something is filed, he 11 gets a copy of it. 12 times that I forgot to send it to him but, yeah, he gets 13 all that stuff eventually. Well, not every time. There are a few 14 Q. Do you communicate with him by email? 15 A. Sometimes. 16 Q. From your, I think you said it was your MSN 17 account? 18 A. Always, yeah. 19 Q. Do you use any other email accounts? 20 A. No. 21 Well, I do have a Gmail account, but I don't use it. 22 MR. SUAREZ: 23 MR. FURR: 24 25 Okay. I'm good. Any other creditors have questions? If anybody is here representing a creditor OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 42 of 56 Page 31 1 I'd like to know who they are. 2 representation on the record. 3 MR. SWIFT: 4 behalf of Richard Neff. 5 MR. FURR: 6 9 Your Honor, Trent Swift on Do you have any questions, Mr. Swift? 7 8 So announce their EXAMINATION BY MR. SWIFT: Q. Mr. Siskind, you said that there was no 10 official agreement, and that there is no articulated 11 agreement. 12 an agreement or make an official agreement with the 13 Mr. Zakitis concerning the investment property? Do you have plans at some point to articulate 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. And what is that intention? 16 A. Well, I've got to wait until this permit 17 issue fiasco is over before I think I should approach 18 Frank on something like that. 19 sitting for many months, I don't know exactly how long, 20 but there is a little bit of friction due to that at this 21 point, which I hope will be resolved by the issuance of 22 the permit. 23 24 25 Q. The property has been Is that friction between you and Mr. Zakitis? A. Correct. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 43 of 56 Page 32 1 2 Q. When that friction is resolved, what are your terms that you would intend to seek from Mr. Zakitis? 3 A. I can't qualify what those terms would be, 4 but obviously I'm going to be hoping for the best 5 treatment of my creditors if we're involved in that 6 project, as well as the Maryland project. 7 Q. Is Cannamed a Maryland corporation? 8 A. Yes, and I think it may be an LLC. 9 Q. And that LLC would have been organized in 10 the State of Maryland? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. Does it have any involvement in the State of 13 Florida? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Has it ever done business in the State of 16 Florida? 17 A. Well, it had its business offices here. 18 Q. And where were those business office? 19 A. At 525 South Flagler, fifth floor. 20 Q. How long did they have those business 21 offices there? 22 A. From their inception. 23 Q. Which was when? 24 A. I don't recall, you'd have to look at the 25 date of the filing of the LLC. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 44 of 56 Page 33 1 2 Q. And the spelling of Cannamed, is that C-a-n-a-m-e-d, or two Ns? 3 A. Two Ns. 4 Q. So C-a-n-n-a-m-e-d? 5 A. Correct. 6 Q. And that's a Maryland LLC, to the best of 7 your recollection? 8 A. I know it is. 9 Q. You know it is, okay. 10 MR. SWIFT: 11 MR. FURR: 12 Anyone else have any questions? 13 MR. ARESTY: 14 No further questions. Thank you. Max Aresty on behalf of Fred Volkwein. 15 MR. FURR: 16 MR. ARESTY: 17 Like your father. I apologize, but I'm not used to these meetings -- 18 MR. FURR: 19 MR. ARESTY: 20 the case. EXAMINATION BY MR. ARESTY: 23 Q. 24 project house --- 25 -- and I'm not really on top of I was attending on behalf of my father. 21 22 Sure. But regarding this Zakitis house, the MR. FURR: Could you move over closer to the OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 45 of 56 Page 34 1 table? 2 MR. ARESTY: 3 THE WITNESS: 4 Or you can come to the table. Right, it's your table, but I presume he can sit here. 5 6 Yeah, yeah. MR. FURR: You can sit there. BY MR. ARESTY: 7 Q. Regarding the Zakitis house, is there a 8 reason why Frank Zakitis would enter into any kind of 9 agreement with you? 10 A. Does he owe you something? No, he owes me nothing, but he is a 11 businessman, on one hand, and he's got a big heart on the 12 other, and when the Maryland license wasn't issued to 13 Cannamed, I asked him if he could help me with some of 14 these projects. 15 New Wave had on the project house, and then eventually 16 foreclosed on it. 17 bought the foreclosure suit. So he ended up purchasing the loan that Actually it was in foreclosure. 18 Q. And he completed the foreclosure? 19 A. Correct, and then bought it in a 20 foreclosure. 21 22 23 So he Q. Did he go above his judgment amount to win the bid? A. I don't recall. I think he paid $1,100,000. 24 No, it was -- no, I can tell you the answer actually I 25 have it with me. No, he's eligible to collect OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 46 of 56 Page 35 1 approximately a $65,000 deficiency. 2 Q. What was the amount of the judgment? 3 A. Well, you can calculate it from what I think 4 he bought it for. 5 you can check in public record. Well, rather than do that, obviously I don't know. 6 Q. You don't recall? 7 A. Not really. 8 Q. So if he was to strike a deal with you to 9 10 help assist your creditors after you get over this sticky situation, would that be purely gratuitous? 11 A. I would have to say yes. 12 Q. The monies that were owed to Fred Volkwein 13 that you put in your schedule, can you tell me how you 14 came to that number? 15 A. That was a number that I calculated and 16 published to Fred, it might have been as much two years 17 ago, I'm not sure. 18 Q. 19 So is it consistent with the ledger that you're referring to? 20 A. Yes. 21 Q. And do you have any copies of that ledger? 22 A. I don't know if I still do, but I'm sure 23 Fred has them. 24 Q. And how were they sent to Fred? 25 A. Handed to Fred at a meeting in my office. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 47 of 56 Page 36 1 Q. Where they given to him in any other way? 2 A. Not that I recall, no. 3 Q. And did you keep any records, physical or -- 4 this ledger, would you have physical copies, or would you 5 have digital copies? 6 7 A. I had a physical copy. It was handwritten, and it was kept in a file with his name on it. 8 Q. Okay. 9 A. I believe so, yeah. 10 Q. And these were the records that you -- they 11 So a physical copy only? were removed from your office? 12 A. Correct. 13 Q. And this gentleman --- 14 A. I believe were removed from my office. 15 Q. And Mr. Gibson, you believe, is the one who 16 17 -- if they were removed, he's the one who removed them? A. Yes, I believe that because when I sent in 18 the van for them, by email, to an address that I know 19 belongs to him, I never received a response. 20 21 22 23 Q. Okay. So Mr. Gibson is unresponsive, and his whereabouts are unknown at this time? A. Oh his whereabouts are perfectly known, he's sitting right here. 24 Q. Oh, okay, but he's been unresponsive? 25 A. Correct. OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 48 of 56 Page 37 1 2 Q. Okay, and you said you were making some amendments to your schedules, is that correct? 3 A. I'm going to, yes. 4 Q. And is --- 5 A. Well, when you say your schedules, you mean 6 Chance & Anthem's schedules? 7 Q. Chance & Anthem, yes. 8 A. Yes. 9 Q. Are you going to be amending any of the 10 11 entries relating to Mr. Volkwein? A. I hadn't intended to, no, but I guess if 12 Fred sits with me either individually or through your 13 firm, and can show me where my numbers are wrong, I would 14 amend based on his numbers if I thought they were correct. 15 MR. SWIFT: 16 Mr. FURR: 17 Anybody else have any questions? 18 Yes, ma'am. 19 MS. WILLIAMS: 20 25 Thank you. MR. FURR: 22 24 Thank you. I'm Sophie Williams on behalf of (inaudible) and Carl Stone. 21 23 Okay. (Inaudible.) EXAMINATION BY MS. WILLIAMS: Q. Mr. Siskind, regarding your schedules for Chance & Anthem, what materials did you use to prepare OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 49 of 56 Page 38 1 them without your records? 2 A. I don't remember. 3 Q. Did you go by memory? 4 A. In part, yes. 5 Q. Did you use any bank records? 6 A. I don't recall what I used. 7 Q. Would you use any handwritten records? 8 A. I don't recall. Q. Okay. 9 10 11 I said that three times now. I'm trying to specify, hoping maybe it will trigger your memory. 12 Okay. So with respect to the $300,000 that 13 you mentioned for the lease to own on the property in 14 Maryland, where -- what was the origination of that 15 $300,000? 16 A. I don't recall. 17 Q. Would it have come from Mr. Stone? 18 A. No. 19 Q. Mr. Fiore? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Would it have come from either Diana or 22 Christopher George? 23 A. 24 25 No. Diana George is not a creditor. She has no basis for being a creditor. Christopher George loaned $2 million to OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 50 of 56 Page 39 1 Sovereign Gaming (phonetic), which then assisted with the 2 funding of Cannamed, but they had no direct privity with 3 Cannamed. 4 5 Q. How much of the money was used for Cannamed funding? 6 A. I have no idea. 7 Q. And you said that was through Sovereign A. Right, there are two promissory notes, as 8 9 Gaming? 10 you well know, totalling $2 million, which 11 Christopher George (inaudible) loaning that money to 12 Sovereign Gaming. 13 Q. 14 15 16 I have seen purported copies of the purported promissory notes. A. And you've also seen the release that David Fiore signed. 17 Q. I have seen the purported release, yes. 18 A. And the affidavit which Carl Stone provided? 19 Q. I am familiar with Mr. Stone's affidavit, if 20 we're talking about the same one. 21 is another one I don't know about. 22 A. I don't know if there So you really don't represent any valid 23 creditors in this bankruptcy, do you? 24 MR. FURR: 25 Mr. Siskind --- BY MS. WILLIAMS: OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 51 of 56 Page 40 1 Q. 2 3 MR. FURR: -- she gets to ask the questions. You don't. 4 5 Did you --- THE WITNESS: I just made the statement for the record then. 6 MS. WILLIAMS: 7 THE WITNESS: All right. But, Mr. Trustee, I will also 8 state that I brought a listing of the valid creditors and 9 she's not one, her clients aren't one it. 10 MR. FURR: All right. 11 MS. WILLIAMS: 12 THE WITNESS: 13 Mr. Volkwein is on it also. 14 MS. WILLIAMS: I don't --Mr. Neff is on it and I will say for the record 15 that my clients have been noticed with regard to the 16 Chance & Anthem bankruptcy matters, and that is why I'm 17 here. 18 valid creditors I think is another issue. 19 So whether or not Chance & Anthem claims them to be 20 MR. FURR: don't make that decision. 21 22 23 24 25 That is another issue, and I MS. WILLIAMS: All right. I don't have any --MR. FURR: There is a guy with a black robe that does that. MS. WILLIAMS: I don't have any other OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 52 of 56 Page 41 1 questions. Thank you. 2 THE WITNESS: Did you say guy or gal? 3 MR. FURR: 4 THE WITNESS: 5 MR. FURR: 6 Anybody else have any questions? 7 If all the lawyers would just give their Guy. Why, who is this one? It's a gal. A gal. 8 card to Mr. Suarez, if you don't mind, so we can get in 9 touch with you, we'll be glad to do that and share any 10 information with you if you want to. 11 12 All right. This meeting is concluded. Thank you very much. 13 14 15 16 (Thereupon, the 341 Meeting of Creditors was concluded.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 53 of 56 Page 42 1 2 CERTIFICATION 3 4 STATE OF FLORIDA : 5 COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE : 6 7 I, Cheryl L. Jenkins, RPR, RMR, Shorthand 8 Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of Florida 9 at Large, do hereby certify that the foregoing Section 341 10 Meeting of Creditors was transcribed by me from a digital 11 recording made on the date and at the place as stated in 12 the caption hereto on page 1; that the foregoing 13 computer-aided transcription is a true record to the best 14 of my ability of said proceedings. 15 WITNESS my hand this 25th day of July, 2018. 16 17 18 19 20 21 ______________________________ CHERYL L. JENKINS, RPR, RMR Court Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of Florida at Large Commission #GG 138863 December 27, 2021 22 23 24 25 OUELLETTE & MAULDIN COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 358-8875 Case Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 54 of 56 EXHIBIT 12 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 55 of 56 Suarez, Jesus From: Sent: To: Subject: Jeffrey Siskind Wednesday, August 22, 2018 1:56 PM Suarez, Jesus RE: Chance & Anthem I sent Sofiye Williams the Fiore/Stone Ledger.  The $2,000,000 loaned to Sovereign Gaming & Entertainment, LLC (SGE)  by Christopher George was on a ledger for SGE, and is privileged.  The $725,000 claimed by Richard Neff was deposited  to the Chance & Anthem account at Chase; not my trust account.  I am willing to enter into a personally resolve the  Volkwein claim because of his involvement in CannaMED.   I am therefore at a loss as to what information you need  which requires an inquiry into the privileged information contained in my trust account.    Jeffrey M. Siskind, Esquire  S I S K I N D L E G A L  3465 Santa Barbara Drive  Wellington, FL  33414  TEL  561‐791‐9565  FAX  561‐791‐9581  CELL 561‐352‐9166  jeffsiskind@msn.com  jeffsiskind@gmail.com    From: Suarez, Jesus    Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2018 11:45 AM  To: 'Jeffrey Siskind'   Cc: rfurr@furrcohen.com  Subject: RE: Chance & Anthem    Mr. Siskind,    We have subpoenaed your trust account records based on your testimony that you do not possess contemporaneous  records.  Additionally,  you have advised us that as a result you do not have the ability to generate ledgers isolating  transactions with particular parties.  As a result, we need to examine all of your trust account records in order to be able  to do so ourselves.    If you wish to propose another manner for us to complete this analysis, we are happy to review and discuss your  proposal.  In the alternative, we are amenable to discussing they entry of an appropriate confidentiality order with  respect to your trust records only.  Please let us know how you wish to proceed.  Thank you.    Jesus     Jesus M. Suarez Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A. Direct 305.913.6682 jsuarez@gjb-law.com    From: Jeffrey Siskind [mailto:jeffsiskind@msn.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2018 8:40 PM To: Suarez, Jesus Subject: Chance & Anthem 1 Case 18-16248-MAM Doc 139 Filed 08/24/18 Page 56 of 56   This shall serve as an invitation to confer on the substance of my motion docketed as DE 121 pursuant to the  requirements of Local Rule 9073‐1(D).  Please let me know if you wish to discuss.    Jeffrey M. Siskind, Esquire  S I S K I N D L E G A L  3465 Santa Barbara Drive  Wellington, FL  33414  TEL  561‐791‐9565  FAX  561‐791‐9581  CELL 561‐352‐9166  jeffsiskind@msn.com  jeffsiskind@gmail.com    2