Attorney Mark S. Mulholland Wins Motion for Appointment of Interim Trustee
Uniondale, Long Island, New York, February 12, 2009 – Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. announced today that Judge Dorothy Eisenberg of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York, has granted the Firm’s application for the appointment of an interim trustee today in connection with the involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding that the Firm commenced against Agape World, Inc. on February 5, 2009.
“Today, with the granting of this motion, we took an important step forward. The Court has wisely created the framework for the victims of this Ponzi scheme to recover at least some of their losses,” said Mark S. Mulholland, head of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek’s Litigation Department and attorney of record for several petitioners in the case.
As part of the ruling, the Judge ordered that an interim trustee be assigned, on an emergency basis, to oversee the affairs of Agape World in order to protect victims alleged to have lost more than $380 million in a scam masterminded by alleged swindler Nicholas Cosmo. The Court also enjoined Agape World from “transferring, conveying, selling, disposing or encumbering” any of its property or assets in an effort to further protect Agape’s investors and to permit maximum recovery by victims. The Court set a date of March 12, 2009 for a hearing on whether the trustee should be appointed on a permanent basis.
Once appointed, the trustee will be empowered to authorize attorneys and other professionals to investigate brokers and sub-brokers who are alleged to have profited enormously from the scheme just prior to its collapse. The trustee would also be authorized to compile a list of all creditors of Agape World, and to notify them of the bankruptcy proceedings, in order to protect victims’ interests to the fullest extent of the law.
For 40 years, Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, headquartered in Uniondale, has built a reputation as one of the region’s leading providers of innovative legal services. Its attorneys are practical, experienced advocates who measure their success by their clients’ success. Cornerstone groups in all major practice areas of the law are represented at the firm, including corporate & securities, financial services, commercial litigation, intellectual property, health care, real estate, employment and trusts & estates. Through its independent arm, Island Strategies, lobbying services are provided at all governmental levels. Clients include large and mid-sized corporations, privately held businesses, institutions and individuals.