A receivership is an equitable remedy in which a court takes jurisdiction and possession over the assets and records of an individual or entity and places them under the control of a receiver.  The powers of the receiver are set forth in the Court order that appoints the receiver, which is referred to as the “Receivership Order”.  Once the assets or records are placed in receivership they are under the exclusive control of the receiver and the individual or entity subject to the receivership order is no longer authorized to possess or control the assets or records.

The Receivership Order places the assets and records of the following individuals and entities in receivership and subject to the control of the Receiver Kelly Crawford:

• TMTE, Inc., also known as Metals.com
• Chase Metals, Inc.
• Chase Metals, LLC
• Barrick Capital, Inc.
• Lucas Thomas Erb, also known as Lucas Asher, also known as Luke Asher
• Simon Batashvili
• Tower Equity, LLC
• All affiliates or subsidiaries owned or controlled by any of the foregoing

Pursuant to the Receivership Order the Receiver will take possession of the assets of the entities and individuals in receivership.  With the permission of the Receivership Court, the Receiver will sell or liquidate the assets.  The Receiver will request the Receivership Court to establish a claims process for investors who lost money due to the actions of the Defendants.  Similar to a bankruptcy, investors will be asked to complete a proof of claim and submit it to the Receiver for the Receiver’s review.  The Receiver will submit the claims to the Receivership Court and after notice and hearing the Receivership Court will determine the amount of claim allowed for each investor.  With the approval of the Receivership Court, the Receiver will distribute the monies available in the receivership estate to all of those who hold claims approved by the Receivership Court.

It is too early to provide any estimate of the amount, if any, that will be available to be returned to investors who lost money.  It depends upon the total amount of assets that are recovered by the Receiver and the total amount of claims allowed by the Receivership Court.  As more information becomes available to the Receiver, this response will be updated. 

At this point it is too early to predict how long the receivership will last.  However, receiverships usually last many months and can last more than a year or two.

The Receiver cannot provide any accounting advice.  You should inform your accountant of the receivership and ask your accountant to determine how you should treat any losses you have suffered for tax purposes. 

The following States are Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit, together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, against the Defendants and Relief Defendant:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

Yes.

The Receiver and those he has employed to assist him in the receivership are paid out of the assets recovered in the receivership.  The Receiver is required to file a fee petition with the Receivership Court and may only be paid upon the Receivership Court entering an Order approving the fees and expenses of the Receiver.  The Receiver is not employed by the Court, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or any of the States.  In addition, the Receiver has no relationship to and is not affiliated with any of the Defendants or Relief Defendant.

No.  However, many investors granted the Defendants or Relief Defendant a power of attorney or otherwise authorized them to act on behalf of the investor regarding the disposition of the monies in the Investors’ Self Directed IRA.  The Defendants and Relief Defendants ARE NO LONGER AUTHORIZED to act on behalf of the investors regarding the Investors’ Self Directed IRA.  The Receiver revoked and terminated all powers of attorney and other authorizations that were executed by Investors in favor of the Defendants or Relief Defendant. 

If you have any information regarding the Defendants or Relief Defendant that you believe would assist the Receiver in locating and taking possession of assets of the Defendants or Relief Defendant, please contact the Receiver immediately.  In addition, if you are contacted by any of the Defendants or Relief Defendant or solicited by any person or entity controlled by any of the Defendants or Relief Defendant, please contact the Receiver immediately.    

You may be approached by persons or entities seeking to buy your metals/coins at a discounted rate.  Please be very cautious in dealing with such persons or entities and 1) make sure they are not owned or controlled by the Defendants or Relief Defendant; 2) make sure they have a good reputation in the industry; and 3) verify anything you may be told as a reason to discount the sale of your metals/coins.  You are entitled to make your own decision regarding the disposition of your metals/coins, but you are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of an independent financial advisor regarding the gold and silver market and whether the sale of such metals/coins at this time is in your best interest.

1. How will I receive the Confirmation form from the Receiver.  Either by first class mail or by email. 
2. If the information on the Confirmation is correct, what do I do?  Simply sign your name and return the Confirmation to the Receiver before April 30, 2021.  You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be postmarked by on or before April 30, 2021.
3. If the information on the Confirmation is incorrect, what do I do?  On the form write in the correction, sign your name and return the Confirmation to the Receiver before April 30, 2021.  You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be postmarked by on or before April 30, 2021.
4. Do I need to sign and return a Confirmation if I have already provided the Receiver with my completed Questionnaire.  Yes!  The Receiver used the information from the Questionnaires that were submitted, and compared it to the records of the Defendants in order to put the information in the Confirmation you are receiving from the Receiver.
5. When should I expect to receive the Confirmation form from the Receiver.  The Court ordered the Receiver to mail out the Confirmation forms by no later than April 1, 2021.  If you have not received a Confirmation form from the Receiver by April 8, 2021 you should contact the Receiver.
6. What if I invested in Tower Equity or another Defendant and invested in something other than precious metals?  The Receiver will send you a Non-Metals Claim form to complete and return to the Receiver before April 30, 2021.  You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be postmarked by on or before April 30, 2021.
7. What if I did not invest monies with the Defendants or Relief Defendant, but I am a creditor of the Defendants or Relief Defendant?  If you have not previously notified the Receiver that you are a creditor, you should do so immediately.  The Receiver will send you a Proof of Claim form to complete and return to the Receiver before April 30, 2021.  You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be postmarked by on or before April 30, 2021.
8. What happens after I submit my form to the Receiver?  The Receiver will make a recommendation to the Court regarding the amount of claim that should be recognized by the Court for each investor.  This recommendation will be in the Receiver’s Claim Report.  The Receiver’s Claim Report will also make recommendations to the Court regarding the amount of claim that should be recognized by the Court for each non-metals investor and for each creditor.  The Receiver’s Claim Report must be filed with the Court by May 28, 2021.  A copy of the Receiver’s Claim Report will be posted on the receivership website and mailed to each investor.  Each investor can review the Receiver’s recommendation and if the investor does not agree with the recommendation of the Receiver the investor can notify the Receiver that he or she objects to the recommendation and explain the basis for the objection.  Objections must be mailed to the Receiver by no later than July 30, 2021.  The Receiver has until August 20, 2021 in which to submit the objections to the Court and the Court will set a date and time for a hearing to consider the objections.
9. When will I receive any money from the Receiver?  In order to receive any money from the Receiver you will need to have a claim that is approved by the Court and be included in the class of persons the Court authorizes the Receiver to pay.  The Court will not enter an Order establishing the amount of the claims until after August 20, 2021.  Therefore, the Receiver will not be authorized to make a distribution to approved claimants until the Receiver proposes a distribution plan to the Court for the payment of claims and the Court approves the distribution plan.  It is unlikely that a distribution plan will be approved by the Court until the late Fall of 2021. Once the Court approves a distribution plan, the Receiver will be authorized to issue checks to approved claimants pursuant to the distribution plan.
10. Will everyone who has an approved claim receive money from the Receiver?  It depends on what class you claim falls into.  The claims will be in three different classes:  1) claims of those who invested in the purchase of metals; 2) claims of those who invested in Tower Equity or in a non-metals investment promoted by the Defendants or Relief Defendant; and 3) creditor claims.  The Court will decide whether all three classes of claims will be paid or if, for example, creditor claims should be subordinated to payment of claims held by investors.
11. How much will I be paid by the Receiver?  If the Court authorizes the Receiver to make a distribution to you as an approved claimant, the amount you will be paid will depend upon the total amount of approved claims the Court authorizes the Receiver to pay, the amount of money the Receiver has recovered in which to pay approved claimants, and the formula the Court authorizes the Receiver to use for determining the amount of the payment.  Accordingly, at this point, the amount you will be paid by the Receiver is unknown.