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WAYNE WAYNE PLATTPLATT
• Berenice Kaplan's son-in-law.• Acted as the personal advisor to Berenice Kaplan who
relied on him. • Experienced investor • Wharton MBA • Seasoned auditor and CPA • Director at Houlihan Lokey responsible for reviewing /
vetting materials and publications • Reviewed all relevant documents • Worked very closely with Serge Richard to select
investments, arrange leverage
ROLE OF SERGE ROLE OF SERGE RICHARDRICHARD
• Located in Switzerland. • Selected as an independent fiduciary trustee by the
Kaplan family • Relationship with the Kaplan family predates the
disputed investments. • Signed investment applications • Acknowledged risk of leverage in writing as part of the
SMI applications he signed • Requested a commission / referral fee from Peat
(presumably for his role in selecting the investments and ensuring the purchase)
• Arranged the leverage / selected the lender and the amount borrowed
• Signed and approved all loan documents
INDEPENDENT LEGAL INDEPENDENT LEGAL REPRESENTATIONREPRESENTATION
• Stanley Barg Esq was the attorney who represented the Kaplan interests
• Partner of Duane Morris LLP/Philadelphia office • Specializes in international tax law • Specializes in the establishment and maintenance of
international trusts • Specializes in the use of life insurance and structure of
offshore investments • He designed and oversaw all offshore trusts and
structures • Independently communicated with the Kaplan Family
without defendants' involvement. • Relationship with the Kaplan family predates
the disputed investments by many years
OFFSHORE LIFE OFFSHORE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIESINSURANCE POLICIES
• Stan Barg arranged for the investments to be wrapped in an IRS compliant offshore life insurance policy without the involvement of the defendants
• He selected the life insurance company and the foreign jurisdiction
• The trusts and the policy itself stipulate foreign court jurisdictions
• The life insurance policy designates an asset manager for the policy unrelated to the defendants
• This structure insulates the assets from claims by creditors in the USA
• It also eliminates US income and capital gains taxes • The Kaplan Family sought the benefits of being
offshore; now they are stuck with the burdens of being offshore.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT SUMMARY JUDGMENT WILL BE AFFIRMEDWILL BE AFFIRMED
1. INVESTMENT LOSS CAUSES OF ACTION - NO STANDING TO SUE• The plaintiffs had more than 2 years to adequately
plead their claims re standing to sue for investment losses and produce supporting documentation.
• Their failure to do so resulted in the trial court imposing evidentiary sanctions against them.
• The trial court was never provided with ievidence establishing plaintiffs' standing to sue for investment losses.
• That right has now expired.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT SUMMARY JUDGMENT WILL BE AFFIRMEDWILL BE AFFIRMED
Continued…
2. BORROWING COSTS CAUSES OF ACTION - BARRED BY THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.• The Kaplan Family was aware years before filing
suit that the investments were losing money and that leverage could work negatively.
• The Kaplan Family borrowed money to fund the collateral calls years before filing suit.
• The only reason the Kaplan Family had to borrow money for collateral calls was because Wayne Platt had borrowed $1..8m from the trust s
• At the time of the original leverage, the borrowers showed that the family could afford the loans and had substantial assets.
THE ROLE OF THE ROLE OF THE DEFENDANTSTHE DEFENDANTS
• Introduced the investors to the Peat Group who acted as brokers / intermediaries
• Received a finders fee • In the investments where the loans were provided by
the bank introduced by InterGlobe, there were never any collateral calls
• Never acted as financial or investment advisors • Were never provided with any of the information
needed to function in this role (assets, liabilities, needs)
THE TRUE VILLAINS : THE TRUE VILLAINS : A. Scottish Mutual InternationalA. Scottish Mutual International
• Provided materials to the Peat Group which were passed on to the investors
• Provided assurances about continuity and stability of annual bonuses
• Failed to keep the basic commitment to With Profits Bond investors of “smoothing” using reserves to maintain relatively consistent bonuses
• Failed to manage the assets in the manner promised in their materials – resulting in liquidation of equities at the bottom of the market and then replacing those with almost exclusively bonds which removed the possibility of recouping market losses
THE TRUE VILLAINS : THE TRUE VILLAINS : B. Serge Richard and the Trustee CompanyB. Serge Richard and the Trustee Company
• Failed in the basic duty of any fiduciary • Were aware of the risks • Knew of the family’s needs, other assets and
financial ability to withstand risk
THE KEY DEFENSES THE KEY DEFENSES OF THE DEFENDANTS :OF THE DEFENDANTS :
1. Standing 2. Statute of limitations 3. Nonreliance 4. Unclean hands 5. Estoppel 6. Comparative fault
INDEMNITY CROSS INDEMNITY CROSS COMPLAINT AGAINST :COMPLAINT AGAINST :
• Wayne Platt (dismissed without prejudice pending appeal)
• Serge Richard• The Trustee Company- Investec