A victory for Ferrum Capital victims – bankruptcy judge Greg Gargotta in San Antonio recently ordered the return of $1.175 million to a court-appointed Ferrum receiver. (A receiver is a neutral manager – often an accountant or attorney.)
The money comes from Austin-based Collins Asset Group, which filed for bankruptcy in June. The order – mutually agreed to by both the receiver and Collins – does not stop victims from continuing their efforts to recover more money.
Background
Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital took more than $100 million from 400 or more investors and “orchestrated a scheme to defraud” them, according to an FBI press release.
Company co-founders Joshua Allen and Michael Cox are under indictment from a San Antonio federal grand jury along with their San Antonio business affiliate Brooklynn Chandler Willy. They’re charged with securities fraud and other counts.
The FBI claimed some portion of the victim’s money stayed with Allen, Cox and Willy (or companies they owned). But not all of it.
Ferrum loaned $47.6 million to Collins, according to a forensic report. Collins – a debt collection company – paid back $19.4 million in interest and fees before defaulting in late 2023. Ferrum then defaulted to its investors and a series of lawsuits began.
Collins was then sold to Oliphant (Oliphant, Inc., Oliphant Financial and Oliphant USA). Victims are going after Oliphant in legal proceedings related to the Collins bankruptcy.
John Patrick Lowe was appointed as the Ferrum receiver by a San Antonio judge in January 2024. That decision took Ferrum out of the hands of its Lubbock founders. Lowe recently filed a quarterly report saying he believes Oliphant “stripped all assets” out of Collins.
“Oliphant Parties now control what previously were the assets of [Collins],” Lowe’s report said.
Lowe is not the only one to claim a stripped-out version of Collins filed for bankruptcy.
As Oliphant continues to collect consumer debt that served as the collateral for Ferrum, Lowe demands Ferrum get that money back.
In the quarterly report, Lowe showed total collections of more than $800,000 and expenses of more than $300,000. That does not yet include the payment we mentioned earlier.
In the meantime, nearly 90 plaintiffs – who have an ongoing lawsuit in San Antionio – have also filed an action in the Collins bankruptcy case. They’re asking the bankruptcy court for permission to file an updated complaint – saying Collins and Oliphant “stole over $50 million … through a Ponzi scheme.”
As part of our ongoing coverage, LubbockLights.com repeatedly reached out to attorneys for Collins and Oliphant to offer them a chance to comment – most recently in October. They have not responded to the offers.
Oliphant previously filed something called a “general denial” which simply means the company denies all wrongdoing.
