July 13, 2007
Re: Your Investment with Jeffrey C. Bruteyn, Dennis Bowdenand the Amerifirst/Hess Companies
Civil Action No. 3:07-CV-1188-D; Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Amerifirst Funding, Inc., et al.; In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division
Dear Investor:
My name is William (“Bill”) Brown, and I have been
appointed as the Receiver in the above-referenced lawsuit involving your
investment with Jeffrey C. Bruteyn, Dennis Bowden and the Amerifirst
Companies. I am writing to provide information about the lawsuit and my
role as Receiver over your investment.
On July 2, 2007, the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
filed a lawsuit in federal court in Dallas charging that Bruteyn and
Bowden had orchestrated a fraudulent investment scheme in which several
hundred individuals, like you, have invested as much as $55 million.
Also named in the SEC’s lawsuit as defendants or relief defendants are
the following companies controlled by Bruteyn and Bowden: Amerifirst
Funding, Inc., Amerifirst Acceptance Corp., American Eagle Acceptance
Corp. and Hess Financial Corp.
The SEC has alleged, among other things, that Bruteyn, Bowden and the
other defendants lied about the safety and security of the investments
they sold, and misappropriated millions of dollars of investor funds for
their personal use. The SEC’s complaint, for example, states that the
defendants used $2.2 million for personal real estate purchases;
$109,000 for divorce and child support payments; $160,000 to payoff
personal credit cards; $100,000 for luxury cars (such as Ferraris and an
Aston Martin) for their personal use; $30,000 for an airplane; and $1.6
million to purchase and remodel a home, interior decorating, country
club dues, travel and cash withdrawals.
After considering evidence presented by the SEC, the Court entered
Orders freezing assets and appointing me as Receiver. As Receiver, my
primary charge is to recover money and other assets controlled by the
defendants and, ultimately, to liquidate the assets and distribute as
much of these funds as possible to you.
I am pleased to inform you that since being appointed by the Court a
little more than one week ago, I have recovered close to $30 million in
cash, securities and other assets. My team of accountants and attorneys
is vigorously in the process of identifying and recovering additional
assets for your benefit.
For your convenience, a toll-free telephone number has been established
so that you can contact the Receivership. That dedicated telephone
number is 1-866-679-7340. I am also in the final stages of setting up an
Internet website where I will post information regarding the status of
the litigation as well as our efforts to recover assets to benefit
investors. The website address is:
www.afireceivership.com.
In order to aid the Receivership in collecting information regarding
accounts and investments, we are asking each investor to provide a copy
of all documents in his or her possession relating to investments or
dealings with the individuals and entities identified above. All
correspondence should be directed to my attention at the above-listed
address, and we ask that you please keep a copy set of any documents you
send to us.
Thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
William D. Brown, CPA, JD