Philly Firm Aided Mantria Ponzi Scheme, Investors Claim

01/12/2013

9 Comments

 
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Law360, Philadelphia (January 08, 2013, 5:22 PM ET) -- Philadelphia law firm Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel LLP was slapped with a putative class action Friday in Pennsylvania state court alleging attorneys should have known that Mantria Corp., a green investment company fingered for running a $54 million Ponzi scheme, was selling bogus securities.

The negligence suit, filed in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, claimed that attorneys with Astor Weiss were complicit in Mantria's violation of state securities law because they knew — or should have known — that stakes the company sold...

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Source: http://www.law360.com/pennsylvania/articles/405671

 


Comments

C. Hamilton (Mantria Investor) link
01/18/2013 1:31am

Great post. I am curious to understand why that after two different lawsuits named Steven Granoff and his previous firm as defendants, does this website not add Mr. Granoff as a gatekeeper or mention his previous firm. It is odd to me that information about Dan Rink, Tatum, Christopher Flannery, Astor Weiss, is consistently posted, but no information about the Controller and a firm who audited several of the documents I personally reviewed before I invested. Please explain.

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Answer
01/18/2013 5:29am

Based on the evidence, Granoff and neither his firm audited the financials. "We have not audited or reviewed the accompanying financial statements and, accordingly, do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on them." http://mantria.weebly.com/1/post/2012/05/examples-of-unaudited-and-not-reviewed-ponzi-scheme-financials.html

Also, Chief Judge Wiley did not see much in the case against Granoff. http://mantria.weebly.com/1/post/2012/12/chief-judge-wiley-daniel-rules-on-defendents-motion-to-dismiss.html

If you have new information you may want to contact the Receiver or the class action lawyers.

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C. Hamilton (Mantria Investor) link
01/19/2013 9:05am

Thank you for the reply. At this point I am inclined to disagree with you. I invested in the Mantria Financial mortgage notes, and I have in my possession an "audited" document from Granoff's former firm, signed by his former partner. I don't care about whether Judge Wiley saw much in the case about Granoff, I care about exposing the actual truth. If you have a way I can send you the attachment of the "audited" document, perhaps that will show others the truth. I am 100% sure I am not the only investor who saw this document that was a part of a PPM.

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Admin
01/19/2013 9:23am

I suggest you send the document to the Receiver and Patrick Howard at SMBB. From the documents that I have seen, which I am calling the evidence, and I am not privy to all, I have seen the same line about the documents not being reviewed or audited, so if you have something new be sure that the lawyers see it.

When this blog posted about the financials not being audited no one came forward with the information you state you have. Again, contact the lawyers.

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C. Hamilton (Mantria Investor) link
01/19/2013 9:27am

I have been in contact with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Howard several times and have turned over all documents and emails that I have. To be specific, all information was turned over to them approximately 6 months ago, so the information I am speaking of is not new. I am more than happy to provide you with a copy so you can post it to this website as well. You can send me a secure link or however you would like to do it as I know your security is crucial. I am just aiming to provide this website with documents that I know you don't have, that I was privy to as an investor. I lost over $1 million dollars with Mantria, and I did my due diligence, therefore, I was given a lot of documentation. My sharing of that information could be very helpful to others.

Admin
01/19/2013 9:34am

Can you upload to the document to http://www.scribd.com/ and post a link to the document here? Thanks. All of the victims appreciate you sharing the information.

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Admin
01/19/2013 9:37am

Sorry to hear about how much you lost. I hope Anderson and Howard have been receptive to the information. Do you have an information about where the Receiver's case is at?

C. Hamilton (Mantria Investor) link
01/19/2013 9:11am

It is duly important to note that Steven Granoff was the former Controller of Mantria Corporation and reported to Dan Rink on a daily basis. So the fact that you are saying: "Based on the evidence, Granoff and neither his firm audited the financials. "We have not audited or reviewed the accompanying financial statements and, accordingly, do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on them." is very confusing as we all know that a Controller sees and approves every single transaction. This argument was made against Granoff by both the Receiver and the Investors. The Judge DID NOT say "Also, Chief Judge Wiley did not see much in the case against Granoff. " as you have stated - he moreover stated it was a clear case of lack of jurisdiction. Please do not try and breeze by an investor who is also doing their homework. The fact is - I invested based on what I saw. I saw the document. It was produced by Granoff's firm. All facts. This website should not be covering up, or brushing aside, the fact of who Mr. Granoff is and what he did for Mantria.

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Admin
01/19/2013 9:32am

This site is not covering up or brushing aside anything, but will not drag someone through the mud as you desire without evidence. What I wrote is based on the evidence that I have seen and not about to write about what may or may not be out there. If you have something to share that is new you should contact the lawyers ASAP.

Also, a controller does not necessarily "approve every transaction", at least when they report to a CFO. From speaking with those that worked at Mantria it seemed that Granoff was in a reporting and accounting role while Dan Rink did the approvals. Again, if you have evidence that suggests Granoff was approving the financial transactions you should share this, too, with the lawyers.

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