July 10, 2020 Offer to Purchase Silver Saddle Ranch and Club. The Receivership Estate will not be able to fund these costs for very long. Investors should look for the letter in the U.S. mail. The minute order granting the Receivers motion is in the documents section of this webpage. SACRAMENTO - The Department of Business Oversight (DBO) announced today that a state judge has granted its request to shut down an alleged investment fraud that collected more than $30 million from illegal land sales and other charges associated with the Silver Saddle Ranch & Club in California City, California. 13, 2020), Amendment to Complaint Adding SS Purchco, Kvassay, Huebner (Feb. 5, 2020), Amendment to Complaint Adding Kelly Maney (Dec. 5, 2019), Amendment to Complaint Adding Maria Rosales (Dec. 5, 2019), Temporary Restraining Order (Sept. 24, 2019), Motion to Approve the Sale of the Galileo Project Land, Declaration of Cornelia J. What You Should Know About This Year's 'Constant Bloom', You Need Child Care For Your Baby. Two Los Angeles artists have new work on display. re Accelerated's Opposition Preliminary Injunction (July 16, 2020), Receiver's Motion to Approve Sale (July 10, 2020), Receiver's Ex Parte Appl'n to Shorten Time (July 10, 2020), Receiver's Response to Motion to Intervene (July 9, 2020), Receiver's 1st Interim Status Report (Mar. These expenses include water, electricity, labor, and insurance costs. On 12/01/2017 MELINDA CERDA filed a Labor - Other Labor lawsuit against SILVER SADDLE RANCH CLUB INC.This case was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Courts, Stanley Mosk Courthouse located in Los Angeles, California. The criminal action by the Attorney General is separate and independent from this case. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Here are 7 key takeaways: 1. Maney continued selling vacant desert land, using the resort as an attraction to draw potential buyers. The Galileo Project property has been listed for $919,746. The agency accused Silver Saddle, Maney, Ducreux and other defendants of securities fraud and selling unqualified securities. After the Nader's Raiders' published their report in 1971, the Federal Trade Commission began to investigate. Defendants comingled and diverted funds that had been promised to be set aside and preserved for the investors benefit, making it difficult to trace exactly how investor money was being spent. Every two years, Desert X presents site-specific outdoor installations throughout the Coachella Valley. California City is filled with signs advertising vacant land for sale. As you may be aware, the Court approved the sale of the Silver Saddle Ranch and Club (Ranch) for $2,100,000. In March 2022, we sent out 2,970 letters to investors notifying them of the Receivers Preliminary Claim Determinations. The Court denied the Receivers ex parte application for an order cancelling escrows for the Ranch and Galileo parcels, and stated that it was not inclined to rule on the request via ex parte application. According to a written declaration from Knight, the listing agent, she and her partner attempted to contact Jones multiple times and spoke with him twice. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? Help us provide credible local journalism and timely NPR reporting to our entire community. According to sources I spoke with and court documents, sales agents suggested that wealthy businessmen like Elon Musk and Bill Gates were investing nearby. He was shocked to hear the news of the criminal charges. Although the sale closed as scheduled, High Plains Mesa Holdings filed a Notice of Appeal of the Courts Order authorizing the sale. We are preparing a proposed order for the Court and will post it on the Receivers website when the judge approves. The complaints about California City caught the eye of the attorney leading the project, who included a chapter on the city in the report. Why A Key Program Is Falling Short, An Agonizing Battle With Schizophrenia Ends On A California Freeway. Accordingly, he filed a Motion for Approval of Proposed Distribution Method and Procedures with the Court asking for permission to make a first distribution. 9, 2021), Receiver's Motion for Proposed Distribution to Investors (Feb. 8, 2021), Receiver's 3rd Interim Status Report (Jan. 14, 2021), Minute Order Granting Receivers Motion to Approve Sale of Ranch (Nov. 6, 2020), Receiver's 2nd Motion to Approve Sale of Ranch (Oct. 13, 2020), Receiver's 2nd Interim Status Report (Sept. 15, 2020), Silver Saddle Resort Sales Brochure (August 24, 2020), Galileo Parcels Sales Brochure (August 24, 2020), Receiver's Ex Parte Appl'n for Order Cancelling Escrows (Aug. 5, 2020), Preliminary Injunction re Accelerated Assets; SS Purchco; and Pahrump Valley Real Estate Co. (July 24, 2020), Minute Order re Motion to Intervene and for Preliminary Injunction (July 24, 2020), Moody Decl. Any response must be filed before the hearing. According to the receiver, Feterik eventually withdrew his objection and the receiver re-opened the sales process for both Silver Saddle and the Project properties. This case was filed in San Diego County Superior Courts, San Diego Central Courthouse located in San Diego, California. The results were as follows: 23 challenges were denied, 17 resulted in an adjustment to the claim determination amount, and 3 were accepted completely. We have reviewed records from Equiant and Silver Saddle which detail the investor payments recorded by the Defendants. It was supposed to be a good investment. We can only do this important work with your help. Since 2011, Silver Saddle's sales agents sold "shares" of the landbanking project to more than 2,000 people, for up to $30,000 each. The developer of California City, Nat Mendelsohn, built hundreds of miles of roads through the empty desert. More information on these matters is available in the Receivers Fifth Interim Status Report (filed September 16, 2021) and the Receivers Sixth Interim Status Report (filed January 13, 2022). If your mailing address has changed, please email your new address to info@regulatoryresolutions.com with the subject line SILVER SADDLE W-2 ADDRESS CHANGE. If you did not opt out of electronic delivery, you can access your W-2 through the Insperity Premier website. Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, Inc. Summary: This case is a class action lawsuit against Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, Inc. for violations of consumer fraud. Based upon an independent appraisal prepared for the Galileo Project land, the Receiver believes this offer is fair, reasonable, and at or above market value for the property. 4. Maney opposed the sale because he wants to propose a joint venture in which the Ranch is included in an agreement between the investors and a third party, Rick Jones. Trial is presently scheduled for May of this year. Many of those consumers ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars on land they were made to believe would be worth much more in the near future. 5. On September 24, 2019, the San Diego Superior Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) with asset freeze and appointment of a Receiver over the Receivership Defendants (Silver Saddle Commercial Development, LP; Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, Inc.; The Galileo Commercial Property Owners Association, Inc., as well as any other entity that has conducted any business related to Defendants offering and selling of the Galileo Project investment contracts). A copy is available the documents section of this webpage. MENDELSOHN'S SALES TACTICS DREW THE ATTENTION OF RALPH NADER, AND GOT THE COMPANY IN SERIOUS TROUBLE WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. The Attorney Generals office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Please understand that the Receivership Estate has very limited assets primarily the proceeds from the sale of the Ranch and the anticipated funds from the sale of the Galileo parcel (if approved by the Court). The contract had no cancellation period, and buyers were required to pay $41 a month in membership fees to Silver Saddle -- indefinitely. CALIFORNIA CITY WAS FOUNDED BY A CZECHOSLOVAKIAN IMMIGRANT WITH A VISION TO BUILD A CITY FROM SCRATCH IN THE DESERT. We have also accepted an offer to purchase the Galileo Project vacant land for $775,500. If the Court grants the motion to cancel the escrows, the Receiver intends to reopen the sales process and all interested parties will have an opportunity to submit their best and final offer for the Ranch real property directly to the Receiver. As such, while we have carefully considered the concerns raised by these investors, they do not have legal standing to object to the sale. We also raise pigs and goats to sell to If you have questions after reading the Motion, please send them to info@regulatoryresolutions.com and include Silver Saddle in the subject line. The Court will hear the Motion in a telephonic hearing on March 19 at 9:00 a.m. A simple example can help explain how this works. But by the late 1960s, people who had bought land in California City were starting to realize that the growth they'd been promised wasn't happening. Once the Court has resolved any investor objections, the Receiver will file a Proposed Order of Final Determination of Claims and First Interim Distribution. Silver Saddle lured prospective buyers from around California with the promise of a free weekend at the ranch. In the 1950s and 60s, the city evicted the mostly Black and Latino working-class residents of Section 14 and destroyed their homes. Port officials say "resuming cargo operations at Americas busiest port complex is critical to maintaining confidence of our customers and supply chain stakeholders.". High near 70F. That case, which is a separate civil lawsuit unrelated to the new criminal charges, is set to go to trial in September. Most of the money, the DBO learned, was gone. "A Treasure in the Desert!" Located in the high desert at the foot of the majestic. lawsuit on September 9, 2019 against Defendants. The California Department of Business Oversight ("DBO") filed its civil lawsuit on September 9, 2019 against Defendants. That case, which is a separate civil lawsuit unrelated to the new . When emailing our office, please include your unit number to allow us to locate your records quickly. The highest water bill was $46,864 for mid-October 2019 to mid-November 2019. The Motion to Approve the Sale of the Ranch and related documents are in the Documents section of this webpage. Silver Saddle Ranch is delivering the very best 2-acre homesites in the market. Heres How To Start Your Search, Emmery Muoz, 14, Was Killed In LA 17 Years Ago. Four years ago, while reporting a story about the drought, I received a tantalizing tip: In a small town in the Mojave Desert, salespeople were making tens of millions of dollars hawking empty desert land to unsuspecting buyers by convincing them the area would boom one day -- and if they got in now, they could get rich. The Receiver hired counsel for both matters. Today on Public Media Giving Day, keep LAist strong with your support. The case status is Not Classified By Court. The Receiver took this claim seriously, his team exchanged correspondence with Mr. Jones, and he convened conference calls with the brokers.. As a result, investors will NOT receive back the full amount they invested from the Receivership Estate. In 1977, the company settled, and was ordered to pay what was, at the time, the largest consumer refund in the history of the FTC. Maney helped negotiate the settlement with the FTC, and after Great Western Cities declared bankruptcy in 1984, he acquired some of the assets, including a lot of vacant California City land and a small resort called Silver Saddle Ranch. Each investor will, however, receive a part of the proceeds from the sale proportionate to the money he or she paid for the property, as described in the recently distributed Claim Determination letters. No. Family Says Mental Health System Failed Their Son, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. The sale closed but in August 2021, the owners of High Plains Mesa Holdings appealed the sale and filed a bankruptcy petition on the companys behalf without the Receivers permission. If approved, the closing date would occur within 60 days, according to the receiver. Silver Saddle Resort was part of an investigation and lawsuit filed by the California Department of Business Oversight in 2019 that looked into fraudulent land sale activities in California City. and given another opportunity to tour the property. As such, the Receiver accepted the offer and will soon seek Court authority to sell the Galileo Project land. The Court granted Mr. Maneys request on August 11, 2022, which means the trial in this case will no longer occur in September as previously scheduled. He spent a free weekend there in 2017, and ended up forking over $30,000 for a confusing, desert-land investment product. The same proposed buyer who offered $2,100,000 also offered $900,000 for the Galileo Project vacant land, which has been marketed through a real estate broker for sale since August. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. In other words, Investor A provided 20%, Investor B provided 50%, and Investor C provided 30% of the total investment. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. The new trial date is May 6, 2022. Upon receipt of an acceptable offer(s), the Receiver will then bring the issue before the Court, August 27, 2020 Ranch and Galileo Project Property Update. Silver Saddle Resort was the mechanism by which the sales were made, facilitating sales events and provided investors with a free nights stay and tours of the ranch.. A 1969 newspaper ad for the real estate training program that Nat Mendelsohn used to sell so much land, "Land for sale" signs litter the empty desert in California City. All parties, including Feterik and Jones, were encouraged to submit a last, best and final offer with a Sept. 14 deadline. After the Receiver reaches final determinations on all claims, a Notice of Final Determination and Proposed Distribution will be filed with the Court.
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