BULLETIN: Kenneth D. Bell, the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards pyramid- and Ponzi-scheme case, says he has issued and mailed 90,297 checks “to Affiliates that hold Allowed Claims as their first interim, partial distribution.”
The SEC has decribed Zeek as a fraud scheme that gathered hundreds of millions of dollars.
The first round of checks are described as an “interim, partial distribution,” and total about $134.2 million, Bell said in a statement dated today on the receivership website.
About $23 million of the $134.2 million is required by law to be withheld for tax purposes, Bell said.
From the receiver’s statement (italics/bolding added by PP Blog):
This first interim, partial distribution represents, with certain limited exceptions, an amount equal to 40% of the Allowed Claims of all Affiliates holding Allowed Claims as of August 15, 2014, using the “rising tide” method of calculation previously approved by the Court.
Affiliates that are being mailed checks on account of the first interim, partial distribution have each filed a claim, had such claim determined by the Receivership Team, accepted that claim determination, and provided the required release and OFAC Certification to the Receivership team. These items are all required by the Court in order to have an Allowed Claim. If you met these criteria as of August 15, 2014, and your first interim, partial distribution is in excess of $100, you will receive a distribution check via mail.
If, as of August 15, 2014, you had not received a claim determination, had not accepted a claim determination, or had not provided the required release and OFAC Certification to the Receivership team, you did not hold an Allowed Claim on August 15, 2014, and were not eligible to receive a first interim, partial distribution. Additionally, if you held an Allowed Claim, but you would have received a distribution of less than $100, no first interim, partial distribution will be paid to you. You will be paid on account of your Allowed Claim in the future.
Additionally, approximately 70,000 Affiliates hold claims that will be allowed against the Receivership Estate if and when any of those Affiliates provide the required release and OFAC Certification to the Receivership team. All of these 70,000 Affiliates (or any additional Affiliates that receive and accept their claim determination prior to December 31, 2014) will be issued their first interim, partial distribution on January 30, 2015 if that Affiliate provides the required release and OFAC Certification to the Receivership Team by December 31, 2014. Affiliates whose claims become Allowed Claims after December 31, 2014 will receive their first interim, partial distribution on a subsequent distribution date.
We have 7,000 more claims to review. If you have not received your claim determination, please be patient; it is coming shortly. If you have already received a claim determination, or when you do, I encourage you to respond as soon as you are able and provide all the required information so that we can mail you your first interim, partial distribution on the next distribution date on which you are eligible.
If you have questions regarding whether your claim determination has been issued, the general status of your claim or to provide the required release and OFAC certification, please log into the following website: https://cert.gardencitygroup.com/zrwdet/fs/home.