Pacifico Sur Group Trustee Demands $34 Million in Alleged “Fraudulent Transfers” From Ocean Waves
February 22, 2022, Southern District of Florida – Plaintiff Marcia T. Dunn as Chapter 7 Trustee of the bankruptcy estates of Debtors Pacifico Sur Group, LLC and Chilean Fisheries Group, LLC commences seventeen (17) lawsuits to avoid and recover alleged “actual and constructively fraudulent transfers” under Sections 541, 542, 544, 548, 549, and 550, Fla. Stat. §§ 726.105(1)(a), 726.105(1)(b), 726.106(1), 726.108(1)(a), and 726.109, and other relief under applicable non-bankruptcy federal and state laws. The prominent cases in the group include :
Adversary Proceeding No. | Defendant | Debtor | Date of Complaint | Amount of Claim ($) |
22-01080 | Ocean Waves USA, LLC | Pacifico Sur Group, LLC | 18/02/22 | 33,976,133.00 |
22-01066 | CHFG Holdings, LLC | Pacifico Sur Group, LLC | 18/02/22 | 1,355,038.3 |
22-01090 | Kash Capital, LLC | Pacifico Sur Group, LLC | 22/02/22 | 859,928.00 |
22-01069 | Confremar USA LLC | Pacifico Sur Group, LLC | 18/02/22 | 368,252.00 |
As alleged in the complaint, the Debtors were engaged in the business of importing, processing, selling, and distributing fish throughout the United States, primarily from Chile. The complaint contends that the Debtors’ owner, Francisco Baeza, and his brother Ricardo Baeza (the “Baeza Brothers”) “hijacked the Debtors’ operations” along with the assistance of other entities “to personally enrich themselves to the detriment of the Debtors and their creditors.” The complaint argues that as part of the “Baeza Brothers’ scheme”, the Debtors transferred millions of dollars to several entities connected directly or indirectly to the Baeza Brothers. Trustee Dunn further argues that Ocean Waves was “one such pass-through entity” that allegedly took direction from the Baeza Brothers directly or indirectly “to aid the Baeza Brothers’ scheme to enrich themselves.”
Specifically, the complaint alleges that Pacifico transferred $33,976,133.00 and Chilean transferred approximately $720,000.00 to Ocean Waves and Ocean Waves transferred nearly $34 million to the Baeza Brothers, “insiders” of the Baeza Brothers, and other entities “utilized by the Baeza Brothers to embezzle and convert money” from the Debtors & the Debtors’ creditors.
In re Pacifico Sur Group, LLC and Chilean Fisheries Group, LLC, Case No. 19-22057-RAM