Committee Struggles to find support

It would seem that the ONLY TWO letters of support for the Committee, come from TWO MEMBERS of the committee being criticised…how sad is that?


UPDATE ON STATUS OF MORGENSTERN STANFORD-RELATED CASES; CONTINUING RECOVERY EFFORTS AND CASE DEVELOPMENTS

October 7, 2011

Some of you have undoubtedly been reading and hearing negative and untrue comments about the efforts we have undertaken, both as lawyers and as members of the Official Stanford Investors Committee, to recover your lost investments. Much of the misinformation and what I believe to be defamatory statements have been sourced to individuals and attorneys who are apparently seeking through misleading tactics, to insert themselves into the case, and to unfairly portray events and likely results for their own benefit and not for yours (in my view). I assure you again that there is no greater priority for us than to seek the maximum financial recovery for you in the shortest period of time. My colleagues and I are working tirelessly to accomplish that end.

We will be having an Investors Committee meeting and will be participating in a number of official court hearings and conferences next week in Dallas. I will provide you with a more detailed update shortly thereafter. In the meantime, I thought it would be helpful to share two letters sent by leaders of the Stanford Victims Community to a reporter who recently published an article about the case. I think the letters fairly capture the reality of the situation.

Please note that I have now officially joined a new law firm Butzel Long, p.c. which is a 150 lawyer firm with substantial resources which I intend to utilize in connection with the continued prosecution of these cases. My new email address is morgenstern@butzel.com and my new direct phone number is: 212-374-5379. The core team that has been working on this matter will remain the same but we will add additional personnel as required. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Peter D. Morgenstern



Ms. Triedman,

I just read your column about the Stanford Ponzi scheme Receivership debacle and was very disappointed to see the grossly defamatory allegations Gaytri Kachroo made about the Court-appointed Investors Committee lawyers. Those lawyers have spent hours a day for well over a year researching and filing claims the Receiver didn’t. There are also numerous tolling agreements that are not public that could result in substantial recoveries for the investors. Unlike the Receiver, the Committee lawyers do not bill for their time and are working purely on a contingency-fee basis for the cases they have filed for all Stanford investors. If they don’t win those lawsuits, they don’t get paid. There is also a tremendous amount of work those lawyers engage in on behalf of the investors that will never result in any compensation – like working with various government agencies on their investigations and other matters that will affect the case.

Separate from their work on the Investors Committee, the three U.S. plaintiff’s lawyers on the Committee worked for 18 months on filing class-action lawsuits on behalf of their clients who may have paid them a small retainer fee. Those cases--and the other work those lawyers do for their clients like filing claims, keeping their clients updated on the case, representing their overall interests in all matters of the case—are completely separate from the work those lawyers do on behalf of the estate. It is a gross misrepresentation to allege the Committee lawyers are “double-dipping” or taking further advantage of Stanford investors.

The Investors Committee lawyers are the biggest advocates Stanford investors have. I know this because I also serve on the Investors Committee with them as one of the two investors. I see the voluminous daily communications, the countless meetings, the invaluable institutional knowledge they bring to the case, their frustration with the complexities involving the Receiver and other matters that absolutely demonstrate without question their interest is in helping Stanford victims recover and not in lining their own pockets. In many ways, the lawyers have also invested with Stanford and they won’t recover anything until the victims do.

I suggest reading the Committee’s response to Ms. Kachroo’s motion to intervene (attached here). If you still think Ms. Kachroo’s allegations have any merit, I also suggest contacting Robert Roseman, the lawyer who is suing Ms. Kachroo on behalf of a previous client.
Sincerely,

Angela Shaw
Director and Founder
Stanford Victims Coalition


Dear Ms. Triedman,

I have just read your article in the 'American Lawyer' regarding the Stanford Ponzi scheme. In particular, it was quite disappointing to see you include such a lengthy paragraph filled with criticism of the individual attorneys on the Investors' Committee (IC).

Unfortunately, when you describe Ms. Kachroo as prominent, it implies to your readers that this somehow gives her credibility in the Stanford case. Ms. Kachroo’s involvement in the Madoff case has absolutely no relevance to the Stanford case. The two cases are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Ms. Kachroo represents a relatively very small group of people. Ms. Kachroo became involved in the Stanford case very late in the game. The paragraph that you dedicated to her in your article acknowledges to me that she remains far from up to speed on the activities of the Committee attorneys.

Beyond the substantial amount of time that these attorneys spend on their own Stanford cases (that may or may not result in payment), these attorneys spend an immeasurable amount of time and expertise on efforts dedicated solely to the Stanford victims. With no compensation at all.

There are multiple daily calls, conference calls, emails, court filings, Receiver exchanges, etc among the IC members. There are evening and weekend calls and mailings. Many if not most of these calls are centered around issues unrelated to the lawsuits referred to in your article, but rather on other issues that need looking after on behalf of all victims.

There have been countless trips (personally paid for) to various cities for meetings with numerous government agencies, politicians, Antiguan liquidators, and others…. all on behalf of all Stanford victims yet unrelated to lawsuits.

My name is John Wade. I am a veterinarian by trade and a victim of the Stanford crime. I am also founder of the Louisiana Stanford Victims Group and represent (sadly) 1800 victims in my state. Lastly, I sit on the Investors' Comittee on behalf of my fellow victims. I have been involved almost daily with the attorneys maligned in your article. I can assure you, that it is undeserved. Not only given valuable time, expertise and effort to the Stanford victims' plight, but they have done so in a manner that in my opinion elevates the standard of their profession.

John Wade, DVM