Altomare Deposition 26 Jun 08 OCR Transcript Extract 4
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MS. HUGHES: Could you mark this as Exhibit Number 13. Gentlemen, this is the only copy I have with me.
(Plaintiff's Exhibit 13, press release titled "Universal Express Received Saudi Investments," dated 24 February 2006, marked for identification, as of this date.)
Q. Exhibit 13 is a one-page document. It is a Universal Express press release titled "Universal Express Received Saudi Investments," dated 24 February 2006. The top line says "February 24, 2006, Universal Express, Inc. (OTCBB: USXP) has begun to receive initial investments from its new Gulf partners. 'In addition, Universal Express has today submitted its corporate brokerage account forms to invest a percentage of these investments to purchase AirNet and its own Universal Express stock on the open market," end of quote, said Richard Altomare, CEO and Chairman of Universal Express, Inc."
A. If I may respond. First of all, it's not a Universal Express press release. It is Business Wire's selected segments of the quote, of the press release, and what they believed was said in the press release. However, as I look at this document, we had received, I think it was a million dollars that was put into Universal Express from some Saudi investors, and there were more investors that were coming, and we did open up a Universal Express corporate brokerage account and we purchased a number of sharesof AirNet, so that we could go to the annual meetings and pursue that acquisition. So I just wanted to clarify that there is some validity from the fact that it came from a Universal Express press release, 2 but this was not a Universal Express press release.
Q. I want to get some information from you. When Universal Express opened its corporate brokerage account, where did it open its account?
A. Saadia would have that information. We purchase -- it was one of the AirNet investment bankers that was helping us try to acquire AirNet.
Q. Was it a broker in --
A. Probably Ohio. It may have been Ohio. We purchased a minimal number of shares of AirNet, maybe 50,000 or $40,000 worth, and we over a period of time sold those shares as the transaction was not able to be consummated; but Saadia would have all those records.
Q. Did you use the account to also purchase Universal Express stock?
A. We did not purchase any Universal Express stock from that account or from any account. We never got to that point.
Q. In talking with the receiver, she located an account at Bear Stearns; do you know if that is the account that is referred to here?
A. I think you would have to just check. We would have only had one account. It was the only time Universal Express ever opened an account, so I don't question Bear Stearns was it; however, I do not -- I did not speak with a Bear Stearns person. So he may have had his accounts with Bear Stearns, but I don't recall. And those were handled directly by Saadia.
Q. You also talk about receiving investments from your Gulf partners?
A. Gulf, not "golf."
Q. Gulf partners. Who were those individuals or entities?
A. There were a number of them over there, and I'd have to -- since their names and the spelling of their names require having the documents in front of me, there were -- they're all in the corporate records and I'm sure that the receiver has them all,because when they made their investments, it was duly documented.
Q. Did they make investments in individual names or in entities?
A. Most of the time, as I recall, it was individual names.
Q. Did any of them invest through Emerald Asset Advisors, LLC?
A. I don't believe so.
Q. I am going to list a number of entities which made deposits to Universal Express's bank account in January and February of 2006, and I want to determine whether the Saudi investors made the investments through any of those entities. Jabro Funding Group?
A. I don't recall.
Q. KBM Consulting?
A. Again, these investments would go directly to Saadia and to my general counsel. I do not know or make the association between an individual name that I would deal with and the corporation or the corporate deposit.
Q. Do you associate Integrated Capital with your Gulf investors?
A. I do not recall the names of the entities that they may have used.
Q. I am going to read you a few more names. You can answer appropriately.
A. No problem.
Q. Mazuma Funding Corporation, do you associate that with the Saudi entities?
A. It would be the same. I spoke and worked with individuals when I went there. I do not know the names of the funds and the corporations that they would have -- Mr. Gunderson, my former general counsel, would have had those documents.
Q. Do you associate Quantum Inc. with the Gulf investors?
A. Same answer.
Q. Do you associate GMP Securities Limited with the Gulf investors?
A. Same answer.
Q. How about Southern Securities Association, do you associate that with the Gulf investors?
A. Again it may or may not be, but the backup documents to those would verify who they came from.
Q. Do you associate any individual's name with Southern Securities Association?
A. If you have any documents that may refresh my memory -- I don't at this time.
Q. I don't. Although I see they're investing $150,000 in the company in February and an additional $141,000 in March.
A. No, I am sorry.
MS. HUGHES: I am going to have the reporter mark this as Exhibit Number 14. This is a February 22, 2006 Business Wire report entitled "Universal Express Signs New Dubai Agreement."
(Plaintiffs Exhibit 14, February 22, 2006 Business Wire report entitled "Universal Express Signs New Dubai Agreement," marked for identification, as of this date.)
Q. Mr. Altomare, did Universal Express open a or create a joint venture to operate a subsidiary in Dubai?
A. We had wanted to, but we never did.
Q. Did it ever go through?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Did you pay money to individuals in Dubai to acquire a company?
A. They wanted us to pay money up front, and we wouldn't pay the money up front, so we never consummated it after the original documents were signed.
Q. What original documents were signed?
A. It was an agreement between NAVSTAR and Universal Express.
Q. Is NAVSTAR a company created in the United States?
A. No. It existed in Dubai.
Q. And was it a company formed under the laws of what, the Arab Emirates?
A. Arab Emirates, yeah.
Q. Do you recall who you dealt with in signing those documents?
A. I do not remember his name. I know it was a doctor and it's -- if you have a document that could help me recall his name, I could remember. There have been many, many 25 Saudian, Dubaian people that I met with and their names begin to blend together.
Q. I see that in April of 2006 there is a series of payments from Universal Express to a man named Hassan, H-A-S-S-A-N, Mohamed, M-O-H-A-M-E-D. Is that the gentleman?
A. No, ma'am.
MS. HUGHES: I would have the court reporter mark this as Exhibit 15. This is a printout of a website that I pulled off on May 15, 2008. The byline across the top is "Welcome to Universal Express – Think Wholesale, Think Middle East, Think Universal Express."
(Plaintiffs Exhibit 15, May 15, 2008 printout from the website of Universal Express, marked for identification, as of this date.)
A. Yes, ma'am.
Q. Have you ever seen this print-off before?
A. I have. I saw it because they were around for about 20 years before our Universal Express was created, and when we got over there, there was some confusion because of the similarity of names, and we only had the rights to Universal Express here in North America. But, indeed, it is a company over there, and it has nothing to do with -- with our Universal Express.
MS. HUGHES: I going to ask the reporter to mark this as Exhibit 16.
(Plaintiffs Exhibit 16, stock purchase agreement dated December 19, 2001, marked for identification, as of this date.)
Q. Mr. Altomare, Exhibit 16, which I think I have only one copy, is a stock purchase agreement. Have you seen that document before?
A. Yes, ma'am.
Q. Does your signature appear on either of the second or third pages?
A. Yes, ma'am.
Q. Did you go through with this stock purchase, which is dated December 19, 2001?
A. I signed on recourse notes. We did receive the stock back, we put it back into the company, and we never made a payment towards it, but yes, we did do that stock purchase agreement.
THE WITNESS: This was the envelope that was in the last document, that was past the time we discussed. The last correspondence we received in the last few days.
Q. So to the best of your knowledge, the certificates that are subject to this agreement were canceled, or where are they?
A. Returned -- they would have been given to my general counsel. Mr. Gunderson would have either canceled them, or whatever the procedure is, would have returned them into the -- you know, the float, I guess, of the company.
Q. Were they returned to treasury?
A. Returned to treasury. Returned to treasury. I stand corrected.
Q. The person you dealt with in negotiating this stock purchase agreement, who was that?
A. It would have been one of two gentlemen. It would have either been Mr. Peeper, who was the original purchaser of them, or a Mr. Geiger, Gene Geiger, who I think worked with Mr. Peeper. Mr. Peeper lives in Europe, and Mr. Geiger was his representative in the United States.
Q. It's Alfred Peeper?
A. Alfred Peeper.
Q. And it's Gene or Eugene Geiger?
A. I don't know that it's Gene or Eugene. I just knew him as Gene Geiger, G-E-I-G-E-R.
Q. He's a gentleman that lives in Colorado?
A. To the best of my knowledge, yes.
Q. But you didn't pay any funds on the promissory notes?
A. No, ma'am.
MS. HUGHES: Exhibit 17 is a printout from a Form 4. The name of the reporting person is indicated as Richard A. Altomare, and the date of the event or the transaction date is listed as 12/20/2001, indicating there was an acquisition of 16,300,000 shares.
(Plaintiff's Exhibit 17, printout of a Form 4 showing Richard
A. Altomare acquired 16,300,000 shares on 12/20/2001, Oriental New Investments, Ltd., marked for identification, as of this date.)
Q. Mr. Altomare, did you make that Form 3 filing?
A. My general counsel would have.
MR. TIFFORD: Form 4.
Q. Form 4?
A. My general counsel would have, yes.
Q. And that reflects your acquisition of shares from a stock transaction we were speaking about, related to New Orient?
A. I would assume so. I don't recall ever doing any other substantial acquisition like that of stock. I think it was Oriental.
Q. It's an acquisition from Oriental shares to treasury, did you file a form saying that you had made the purchase?
A. I'd have to ask Mr. Gunderson that question, but my understanding was that it was being returned to treasury.
MS. HUGHES: Let's go off the record.
(Discussion off the record.)
(Recess taken.)
(Luncheon recess: 11:30 a.m.) |
