Successful Liquidation of a Troubled Company
Moss & Barnett represented Petters Aviation, LLC and related aviation companies formerly owned by Thomas J. Petters, the convicted perpetrator of a $3 billion Ponzi scheme, in Chapter 11 cases.
The financial manipulations related to the Ponzi scheme resulted in complicated intercompany relationships among Thomas Petters' numerous companies, which consisted of legitimate businesses and companies used to perpetrate the massive fraud. Petters Aviation, LLC and its subsidiaries owned and leased aircraft, served as U.S. sales agent for an international aircraft manufacturer, and owned stock in the parent company of a regional airline.
We succeeded in establishing, through litigation where necessary, that Petters Aviation and its subsidiaries were not directly involved in the Ponzi scheme and that the company's assets should be applied to the legitimate business debts of the company. Moss & Barnett also assisted in the formulation, confirmation, and successful execution of a plan of liquidation, including bringing actions for the recovery of preferences, which increased the recovery for legitimate business creditors.