Mr. Stevens is a professional fiduciary and commercial restructuring lawyer whose practice focuses on the representation of trustees, debtors and creditors in complex bankruptcy cases, debt restructurings, and related litigation, with a focus on Ponzi schemes and similar frauds.
Fred employs a practical, results-oriented approach that helps his clients find money in the tough cases and maximize returns. Fred also routinely serves as a bankruptcy trustee, examiner, plan administrator, and receiver in cases throughout the country.
Education:
St. John’s University School of Law – JD (1999)
St. John’s University – BS Finance (1996)
Bar Admissions:
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York
Texas
Federal Courts:
District of Connecticut
District of Massachusetts
District of New Jersey
Eastern District of New York
Northern District of New York
Southern District of New York
Northern District of Texas
Southern District of Texas
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Tax Court
Designations:
- Member of Panel of Private Chapter 7 Trustees in the SDNY
- Certified Fraud Examiner
Significant Fiduciary and Arbitration Roles:
- Serving as Plan Administrator and Former Chapter 11 Trustee in In re M. Burton Marshall (N.D.N.Y.), where the individual debtor perpetrated a $95 million Ponzi scheme
- Serving as Chapter 11 Trustee in In re Itzak Hershko (E.D.N.Y.)
- Serving as Examiner in In re PCP Group LLC
- Serving as Receiver in Spin Capital, LLC v. Golden Foothill Ins. Svcs. (N.Y.S. Sup. Ct.), and Mutual Life Ins. Co.. v. Broadway 340 Madison Fee LLC (S.D.N.Y.)
- Serving as the post-confirmation trustee in In re Hardinge Inc., et al. (Del.)
- Served as Member of Arbitration Tribunal in ICC Matter – Ace Group Intl., LLC v. 225 Bowery LLC
- Served as Examiner in In re Gateway Kensington LLC
- Served as Chapter 11 Trustee of EMC Hotels and Resorts LLC (The Time Nyack Hotel), EMC Bronxville, La Cremaillere Rest. Corp., Meyzen Realty, and 2111 Albany Post Road Corp.
- Served as Post-Confirmation Fiduciary for the Malibu Lighting Creditors’ Liquidating Trust, Auburn Armature, and Atari Inc.
Significant Representations:
- Counsel to Serving as counsel to the debtor in In re Prime Capital Ventures, LLC, a vehicle for a $100+ million advance pay lending/Ponzi scheme
- Chapter 7 Trustee of Fyre Festival LLC, the failed music festival created by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule.
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and Post-Confirmation Trustee for FKF 3, LLC, a $60 million real estate investment fund. Obtained over $50 million in judgments after a five-week jury trial on fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfer claims in 2018.
- Debtor in the Chapter 11 construction case of Advanced Contracting Solutions LLC. Obtained authority to sell the assets of the company over objections of multiple labor unions and employee benefit funds (decision reported at 582 B.R. 285 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2018).
- Debtors in the Chapter 11 cases of Hypnotic Taxi, LLCand related debtor-owners of New York City Tax Medallions, owned by Evgeny Freidman.
- Debtor in the Chapter 11 case of Hospital Audiences Inc., a storied New York City arts charity.
- Chapter 7 Trustee in Revolate Holdings, an advertising firm and investment vehicle, in connection with a multimillion-dollar settlement of director and officer liability claims.
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors for Spectrum Healthcare LLC,Sonix Medical Resources, Inc., Word World LLC, Cavalry Construction, Inc., OMC, Inc., Lehr Construction and Cool Sheetmetal Inc.
- Petitioning Creditors in involuntary cases of Jacoby & Meyers – Bankruptcy, LLP and Macey Bankruptcy Law P.C.
- Estate of Hilly Kristal as a secured lender in the CBGB Holdings, LLCbankruptcy case (decision reported at 439 B.R. 551).
Recent/Scheduled Speaking Engagements:
- Supreme Court Update – Important Cases and Trends, TMA New York City (scheduled May 13, 2024) – Webinar
- Bankruptcy Crimes, United States Trustee Region 2’s Panel Chapter 7 Trustee Training (September 6, 2024) – Albany, New York
- Litigation of Avoidance Actions, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Meeting (August 18, 2024) – (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Trustee Discretionary Calls, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Region 2 Webinar (Jan. 22, 2024) – Webinar
- Material Misrepresentations in Chapter 7 Cases, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Region 2 Webinar (scheduled Jan. 22, 2024) – Webinar
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bankruptcy But Were Afraid to Ask, NYS Bar Association Commercial and Federal Litigation Section 2024 Annual Meeting (scheduled Jan. 16, 2024) – New York, New York
- International Issues for Chapter 7 Trustees, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees International Committee Webinar (September 20, 2023) – Webinar
- Collecting Judgments, Accounts Receivable and Avoidable Transfers, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Conference (June 10, 2022) – Vancouver, Canada
- Attorney Misconduct, United States Trustee Region 2’s Panel Chapter 7 Trustee Training (June 3, 2022) – Albany, New York
- All About Bankruptcy: A Primer for Non-Bankruptcy Lawyers, DRI Webinar (May 7, 2021) – Chicago, Illinois
- Bankruptcy Crimes, Hudson Valley Bankruptcy Bar Association New Deal Seminar (Sept. 11, 2020) – Poughkeepsie, New York
- Liquidation and Restructuring Issues for Nonprofits in New York State, New York City Bar Association (March 29, 2019) – New York, New York
- Jury Trials in Bankruptcy Cases, EDNY Chapter 11 Lawyers’ Advisory Committee (Jan. 16, 2019) – Brooklyn, New York
Recent Expert Witness Experience:
- In re Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Inc. – Expert in the area of chapter 7 trustee property liquidations. Report provided to creditor The Rockefeller University regarding the best interests of creditors test in confirmation fight.