The continuing saga of Joaquin Altenberg and his questionable new business CEN (Clean Energy Nexus) will continue in Bankruptcy Court. The Chapter 7 trustee filed a fraudulent conveyance claim against Joaquin Altenberg (“Altenberg”), Alison Altenberg, Clean Energy Nexus, LLC (“CEN”), and Vert Investment Group, LLC (“VIG”) (collectively, “Appellees”).
These claims were originally dismissed but on February 2, 2023 US District Judge Andrew S. Hanen overruled and reversed many of the dismissed claims. Judge Hanen addressed the claims of fraudulent conveyance and breach of fiduciary duty in the following manner:
Texas corporation law applies the ‘corporate opportunity’ doctrine where a
corporation has a legitimate interest or expectancy in, and the financial resources
to take advantage of, a particular business opportunity. When a corporate
officer or director diverts a corporate opportunity to himself, he breaches his
fiduciary duty of loyalty to the corporation.
USA Herald has learned that two projects that may have been improperly taken from the bankruptcy estate may be close to completion and could be sold. It questions whether a sale at this time with litigation pending could be deemed improper. That would be par for the course for Altenberg as Judge Laster of the Delaware Chancery court described Altenberg in the following manner “Altenberg’s pre-litigation conduct reflected a pattern of fraud and misrepresentation that was sufficiently egregious to warrant shifting fees. During litigation, Altenberg engaged in a pattern of serial misconduct that provides additional support for shifting attorneys’ fees and expenses.”
This case is set for trial in Courtroom 403, 515 Rusk St., Houston, Texas, at 9:00 a.m., on July 31, 2023. Two days is reserved for trial.
The USA Herald has previously covered several cases against Joaquin Altenberg, including a restraining order that was filed against him last year by his wife Alison Altenberg. Additionally Joaquin was held liable for $6.19M for “egregious fraud and misrepresentation” and “serial misconduct” in this case. The court also awarded $1.72M in legal fees to the plaintiff against Joaquin in that case.
Please continue to look for follow ups on this story as USA Herald is looking for more details of the nature of the two projects and what parties have been working with Altenberg along with CEN. There’s a collections alert up on Joaquin Altenberg to make innocent third parties aware that Mr. Altenberg’s legal rights and assets are subject to a Court Order and that they should contact the Receiver in order to avoid inconvenience and potential liability.
A fraudulent transfer is an illegal and unfair transfer of an asset by a debtor to keep it away from a creditor. It occurs after debtor has knowledge that they are being pursued by a creditor, e.g., after a demand letter is sent or after a lawsuit is filed. Fraudulent transfers are to people or accounts that are close the debtor such as spouses, parents, siblings, children, college savings account, and retirement accounts. The Receiver has the ability to pursue and unwind fraudulent transfers.
If you are aware of fraudulent transfers by Joaquin Altenberg, please contact the Receiver in the case:
