SINGH RESTITUTION STATUS REPORT; REQUEST TO CALANDER MATTER FOR 10/26/2017 AT 9:00 AM FOR STATUS CONFRERENCE

MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., District Judge.

BACKGROUND AND STATUS

On March 20, 2014, pursuant to plea agreement, defendant Singh pled guilty to Count 15 of the Indictment — Wire Fraud, as part of an elaborate Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced on October 30, 2014. Prior to sentencing, Singh entered into bankruptcy proceedings listing his investors as creditors. Bankruptcy Case, EDCA, No. 10-42050. By this Court's subsequent orders, restitution was therefore deferred to the termination of Singh's bankruptcy proceedings and issuance of a Final Report in that matter in order to better evaluate the restitution amounts claimed in the within proceedings. Order(s), Case No. 12-cr-352 MCE Dkt. 84.

During the course of the Bankruptcy case some 200 of those persons whose names appear as inverstor/victims in the within case, filed Proof of Claims in the Bankruptcy Case the total sum of which was approximately $20,000,000, and a trustee was appointed by the Bankruptcy Court. EDCA Bankruptcy Case No.10-42050.

The Trustee filed 135 Adversary Proceedings in an effort discover actual loss amounts by each of the claimants and to recover fraudulent transfers of funds to third parties, including funds paid back to the claimants by Singh as a part of the Ponzi scheme. Of those 135 Adversary Proceedings, less than 10 remain unresolved. Mostly the adversarial proceedings been characterized as "preferential payments" that, under federal bankruptcy law are unlawful. Although the final report has yet to be issued, it now appears that the aggregate sum to be recovered by the Trustee to be approximately $5 million dollars to $10 million dollars.

As this Court knows, the Trustee had earlier anticipated that the final report would have issued by this year's end. That unfortunately does not appear to be the case since there remains a small number of claimants' yet unwilling to resolve their claims. In fact, the Trusttee is now saying that his Final Report will not be completed until the end of 2018.

However, at my request the trustee has recently provided undersigned with two sets of documents of approximately 150 pages. Those documents include the Bankruptcy Schedules, the Claims Register and the Trustee's Claims analysis detailing the results of his investigation to date, the bankruptcy court's rulings in some cases and compromise or other resolution of other cases. Undersigned has requested the services of a paralegal through CJA and this Court in order to review those documents, compare and reconcile the names and dollars from the bankruptcy proceeding to date, to those adduced in the within criminal case and to, in effect, prepare a mini/unofficial "final report." Such a report, although not the Trustee's Final Report, may well serve as a springboard, or otherwise facilitate future, and earlier discussions between the parties toward resolution of the total amount of restitution owed.

REQUEST FOR STATUS CONFERENCE

This matter was last heard on August 2, 2016, and conlcuded with this Court's interim order of that date. Dkt 104. For reasons not entirely clear, no subsequent control date for status conference was set and, quite frankly I missed that fact. I apologize for an inconvenience that may have resulted.

Accordingly it is respectfully requested that this matter be set for a status conference on October 26, 2017. It is hoped that this Court will have granted undersigned's request for a paralegal and that he will have made headway, if not have completed his reconciliation of the bankruptcy records and claims with the victim/investor claims in the within case. Thus a status conference toward the end of October will hopefully be beneficial.

Should the proposed date be inconvenient with either the Court or government counsel, undersigned is available any time other than September 21, 2017, through October 12, 2017, during which time I will be out of the country on a long planned family vacation.

Mr. Singh remains in custody of the Bureau of Prisons serving his term.

ORDER

Good cause having been shown, this matter is hereby set for a status conference at 10:00 a.m. on October 26, 2017, in Courtroom 7.

IT IS SO ORDERED.