10/07/2011 184 Letter to Judge Irizarry re: Moskowitz monthly living expenses by U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit) (Kisslinger, Paul) (Entered: 10/07/2011)
Doc 184 PDF file
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Doc 184-1 PDF file
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Doc 84 OCR extract -
Your Honor:
Pursuant to the Court’s Minute Order dated September 28, 201 1, we hereby submit our proposed budget for defendant Steven Y. Moskowitz.
The Order entered by the Court on September 13, 2011 [Dkt. 175] allows for Mr. Moskowitz to have access only to “necessary and reasonable monthly living expenses.” Mr. Moskowitz submitted a schedule of expenses claiming $27,850 in monthly expenses. [Attached as Exhibit A]. These included $8000 in private school tuition for his children, $5500 for food, $1000 for clothes, $1000 for life insurance, $1000 for church/charities, $1000 for vehicle charges, and $2500 for “other secured debts,” which were not identi?ed. Mr. Moskowitz also provided the SEC with monthly statements for certain of the claimed expenses, but many of these statements were addressed to his spouse. He did not indicate who had paid these expenses, thus, it is unknown the extent friends or family members had assisted Mr. Moskowitz in paying his expenses in the past, nor whether they would continue to do so in the future.
The SEC believes these claimed expenses — and even Mr. Moskowitz’s reduced request of $15,000 per month -- are excessive and go beyond those that are “necessary and reasonable.”
Especially in the absence of additional information about the source from which the claimed expenses are being paid, Mr. Moskowitz should not be permitted to continue to pay such amounts with funds that should be retumed to injured investors. We respectfully suggest that the following monthly budget is appropriate (expenses taken from Mr. Moskowitz’s schedule):
Mortgage and real estate taxes: $2270
Household, utilities, and living expenses: $2800
Total: $5070/month ($60,840/year)
This stipend, larger than the median household income for Queens County, New York,[1] will continue to allow Mr. Moskowitz to stay in his house, pay for food, utilities and other household expenses. We believe this is fair and reasonable.[2]
Respectfully submitted,
Paul W. Kisslinger
Cc: Counsel of record by ECF, and U.S. Mail for defendant Speranza.
Per the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in 2009 for Queens County, New York, was $54,671. See quickfactscensus.gov I.html.
[2] Indeed, in cases like this, where the amount of funds allegedly stolen from victims dwarfs possible recovered assets, courts sometimes decline to provide defendants access to any living expenses. See SEC v. Forte, 598 F.Supp.2d 689, 693 (E.D. Pa. 2009) (“Given the paltry assets that remain to compensate Defendant's alleged victims, any release of funds seems unwarranted”); FTC v. USA F in., LLC, No. 08-899, 2008 WL 3165930, at *3 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 6 2008) (“Where, as here, the frozen assets fall far below the amount needed to compensate the consumers, the court should exercise its discretion to deny a request to release funds for living expenses.”) |
