Welcome
Welcome to the website established by the Court appointed Receiver Kelly Crawford. Mr. Crawford was appointed the Receiver by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (the “Receivership Court”) in a lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 30 States against Defendants 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, and Simon Batashvili, and Relief Defendant Tower Equity LLC in Case No. 3:20-CV-2910-L. The purpose of this website is to provide information regarding the receivership to the investors who lost money due to the actions of the Defendants and Relief Defendant.
Claim Confirmation Forms have been mailed by the Receiver to Investors. If you are an investor and have not received a Claim Confirmation Form, please contact the Receiver. The deadline for returning the Claim Confirmation Form has been extended to June 15, 2021.
Non-Metals Claim Forms have been mailed by the Receiver to non-metals investors. If you are an investor in non-metals and have not received a Non-Metals Claim Form, please contact the Receiver. The deadline for returning the Non-Metals Claim Form has been extended to June 15, 2021.
Proof of Creditor Claim Forms have been mailed by the Receiver to known creditors. If you are a creditor of the Defendants or Relief Defendant and have not received a Proof of Creditor Claim Form, please contact the Receiver. The deadline for returning the Proof of Creditor Claim Form has been extended to June 15, 2021.
Notice of Sale and Hearing
Notice of Sale and Hearing

Notice:
The Court authorized the Receiver to make an interim distribution of $8 million. The distribution cannot be made, however, until the IRS claim against Chase Metals is resolved. The IRS is auditing Chase Metals for 2018 and could be claiming some of the monies designated by the Receiver for distribution to approved claimants. The Receiver requested the IRS to subordinate any claim it has to the claims of the Approved Claimants. Until such agreement with the IRS is reached, the Receiver cannot make the interim distribution.
The Receiver Kelly Crawford
Kelly Crawford is an attorney in Dallas, Texas. He has served as the receiver or counsel to the receiver in more than 15 cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Federal Trade Commission during the past 20 years. He has been appointed the receiver by federal courts in each of the four districts of Texas, as well as by the federal court for the Southern District of New York. He is a founder of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.
The Receiver Kelly Crawford may be contacted by telephone at (214) 420-4330, or by email. When contacting Mr. Crawford, if he is not available please leave a message and either Mr. Crawford or one of his attorneys will respond to your message.
Timeline of Events
Important dates of the receivership
Frequently Asked Questions