In re Herald, Primeo and Thema Funds Securities Litigation

Filing 56

DECLARATION of Albert Y. Chang in Support re: #38 MOTION to Appoint Foxton Group to serve as lead plaintiff(s). MOTION to Consolidate Cases 09cv289, 09cv2302; 09cv2558. MOTION to Appoint Counsel.. Document filed by Foxton Group. (Linkh, Gregory)

Repex Ventures S.A v. Madoff et al

Doc. 56

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------------- x REPEX VENTURES S.A., on behalf of itself : and all others similarly situated, : : Plaintiff, : : vs. : : BERNARD L. MADOFF; BERNARD L. : MADOFF INVESTMENT SECURITIES; : BANK MEDICI S.A.; SONJA KOHN; PETER : SCHEITHAUER; HERALD USA FUND; : HERALD LUXEMBURG FUND; BANK : AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT; UNICREDIT : S.A.; PRIMEO SELECT FUNDS; PIONEER : ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS; THEMA : INTERNATIONAL FUND PLC; ERNST & : YOUNG LLP, and HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, : : Defendants. : --------------------------------------------------------x [Caption continued on the next page] DECLARATION OF ALBERT Y. CHANG IN SUPPORT OF THE FOXTON GROUP'S MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE, TO BE APPOINTED LEAD PLAINTIFF, AND FOR APPROVAL OF ITS SELECTION OF COUNSEL ECF Case Case No. 09 Civ. 0289 (RMB)

Dockets.Justia.com

--------------------------------------------------------- x HORST LEONHARDT, on Behalf of Himself : and All Others Similarly Situated, : : Plaintiff, : : v. : : BERNARD L. MADOFF, BANK MEDICI : S.A., SONJA KOHN, PETER : SCHEITHAUER, HERALD USA FUND, : HERALD LUXEMBURG FUND, BANK : AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, UNICREDIT : S.A., PRIMEO SELECT FUND, PRIMEO : EXECUTIVE FUND, PIONEER : ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS, THEMA : INTERNATIONAL FUND PLC, HELMUTH : E. FREY, FRIEDRICH PFEFFER, FRANCO : MUGNAI, ALBERTO BENBASSAT, : STEPHANE BENBASSAT, GENEVALOR, : BENBASSAT & CIE, DAVID T. SMITH, : GERALD J.P. BRADY, DANIEL : MORRISSEY, ERNST & YOUNG S.A., : ERNST & YOUNG GLOBAL LIMITED, : HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, HSBC : INSTITUTIONAL TRUST SERVICES : (IRELAND) LIMITED, HSBC SECURITIES : SERVICES (IRELAND) LIMITED, HSBC : SECURITIES SERVICES, S.A., : PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, : CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, : PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS : INTERNATIONAL LIMITED and : FRIEHLING & HOROWITZ, : : Defendants. : --------------------------------------------------------- x

ECF Case Case No. 09 Civ. 2032 (RMB)

I, Albert Y. Chang, declare that: 1. I am an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of New York and an

associate with the law firm of Johnson Bottini, LLP, Proposed Lead Counsel for the Foxton Group. I submit this Declaration in support of the Foxton Group's motion (1) to consolidate related actions; (2) to be appointed lead plaintiff; and (3) for approval of selection of counsel. 2. On May 4, 2009, I learned that due to his travels, Willard Foxton, a member of

the Foxton Group, had no means to deliver to my office a personally-signed copy of his certification dated May 2, 2009 before the deadline for filing lead plaintiff motions. I received Mr. Foxton's personally-signed certification shortly after filing the Foxton Group's lead plaintiff motion. Attached as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of the certification personally signed by Mr. Foxton on May 2, 2009. 3. On June 1, 2009, I visited a Web site storing historic data of currency exchange

rates, http://www.oanda.com/, and obtained print-outs of daily average exchange rates between British Pounds and U.S. Dollars for the period between November 1, 2004 and March 1, 2005. Attached as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of these print-outs showing that during this period, the exchange rates ranged between $1.80 and $1.95 per British Pound. I further declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Dated: June 1, 2009 s/ Albert Y. Chang Albert Y. Chang

1

EXHIBIT A

CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSED LEAD PLAINTIFF PURSUANT TO THE FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS

I, Wilard Foxton, declare the following as to the claims asserted, or to be asserted, under
the federal securities laws:
1. I have reviewed the complaint on fie in this case - Perrone v. Benbassat et al.,

Case No. 09-cv-2558 (S.D.N.Y.), with my counseL.

2. I did not acquire the securities that are the subject ofthis action at the direction of

my counselor in order to paiticipate in any private action under the federal securities laws.

3. I am wiling to serve as a lead plaintiff in these cases. I understand that a lead
plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the

litigation, and whose duties may include testifying at deposition or trial, if necessary. As
indicated below, my deceased father had his entire life savings invested in the Herald USA Fund

..

and Herald Luxembourg Fund. My father's estate has authorized me to pursue a claim on behalf
of

the Estate of Wiliam Foxton (the "Estate") in this case in an attempt to recover the losses

suffered by my father in the Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxembourg Fund.
4. I will not accept any payment for serving as a representative party beyond my pro

rata share of any recovery, except reasonable costs and expenses - such as lost wages and travel expenses - directly related to the class representation, as ordered or approved by the Court
pursuant to law.

5. I have not sought to serve or served as a representative party for a class in an

action under the federal securities laws within the past three years.
1

6. I understand that this is not a claim form, and that my abilty to share in any

recovery as a class member is not affected by my decision to serve as a representative party.
7. I have had numerous telephonic meetings and discussions with my counsel

regarding this case. In addition, I met in person with my one of my attorneys, Frank A. Bottini,
Esq., on May 1,2009 in San Diego, California to discuss the case and my participation in it. Despite the fact that I live in England, and the case is pending in New York, I am wiling to be,

and want to be, actively involved in this litigation. The litigation has extreme personal
importance to me and my family due the fact that my father Wiliam Foxton, a decorated British
soldier knghted by the Queen, took his own

life earlier this year due to losing his entire life

savings which he had invested in the Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxembourg Fund. Late last
year, after returning from working in Afghanistan as a defense contractor, my father discovered that his entire life savings had been unbeknownst to him invested by the Herald USA Fund and
Herald Luxemburg Fund with Bernard Madoff and therefore lost.
8. On learning the Herald funds had collapsed, my father took his own life on

February 10,2009. Shortly before his suicide, he sent me the following email:-

"Dear Wil, I wil be brief. I had some in fact all my money in two funds Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxemburg Fund invested in Austria. I have now found out that the office is closed and the money was invested in Hedge funds of Madoffof the Ponzi scheme. 1 have lost. 'everything. I am now considering whether or not to get myself declared bankrupt Feeling pretty low and depressed. Thats about it for the moment."

9. It has been extremely hard for my family to find any of my father's documents,

and we have no idea where he may have kept them, despite repeated searches of the family

home. However, my family did confirm with my father in 2006 that he had invested
approximately 1.6 milion British Pounds in an investment, which due to my father's email
2

quoted above we came to subsequently learn was invested in the Herald USA Fund and Herald
Luxembourg Fund through Bank Medici's Vienna, Austria office. Moreover, shOltly prior to his

death, he told me that he was having disagreements with the bank in Austria regarding his
investments there. Moreover, I believe he invested in the funds in approximately late 2004 or

early 2005, as he was nearing retii-ment. He retired in November 2008, and shOltly thereafter,

on December 10,2008, learned about the MadoffPonzi scheme and that his entii- life savings
were lost. During late 2004 and early 2005, the British Pound traded between approximately $1.80 and $1.95 United States Dollars. Thus, I believe that my father's investments in the

Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxembourg Fund were between approximately $2.88 milion

U,S. Dollars and $3.12 millon U.S. Dollars.
I declare under penalty ofpeijury under the laws of

the United States of America that the

foregoing is true and correct.
May, 2009.

Executed this ~ day of

w-. Ö. ~
WILLARD FOXTON

3

EXHIBIT B

FXHistory - Historical Curency Exchange Rates

Page 1 of2

Traders

FXHistory(Ë: historical currency exchange rates
Conversion Table: GBP to USD (Interbank rate)

Time period: 11/01/04 to 03/01/05.
Daily

averages: 11/01/2004 1.8390 11/02/2004 1.83370 11/03/2004 1.84010 11/04/2004 1.84870 11/05/2004 1.84430 11/06/2004 1.85640 11/07/2004 1.85730 11/08/2004 1.8550 11/09/2004 1.85610 11/10/2004 1.85750 11/11/2004 1.84750 11/12/2004 1.84270 11/13/2004 1.85730 11/14/2004 1.85730 11/15/2004 1.85680 11/16/2004 1.84680 11/17/2004 1.8530 11/18/2004 1.85890 11/19/2004 1.85160 11/20/2004 1.85780 11/21/2004 1.85820 11/22/2004 1.85870 11/23/2004 1.85950 11/24/2004 1.86730 11/25/2004 1.88120 11/26/2004 1.88940 11/27/2004 1.8950 11/28/2004 1.89440 11/29/2004 1.89290 11/30/2004 1.89380 12/01/2004 1.91140 12/02/2004 1.93260 12/03/2004 1.92490 12/04/2004 1.94350 12/05/2004 1.94410 12/06/2004 1.9440 12/07/2004 1.93870 12/08/2004 1. 9460 12/09/2004 1.93380 12/10/2004 1.92710 12/11/2004 1.91550 12/12/2004 1.91520

01/01/2005 01/02/2005 01/03/2005 01/04/2005 01/05/2005 01/06/2005 01/07/2005 01/08/2005 01/09/2005 01/10/2005 01/11/2005 01/12/2005 01/13/2005 01/14/2005 01/15/2005 01/16/2005 01/17/2005 01/18/2005 01/19/2005 01/20/2005 01/21/2005 01/22/2005 01/23/2005 01/24/2005 01/25/2005 01/26/2005 01/27/2005 01/28/2005 01/29/2005 01/30/2005 01/31/2005 02/01/2005 02/02/2005 02/03/2005 02/04/2005 02/05/2005 02/06/2005 02/07/2005 02/08/2005 02/09/2005 02/10/2005 02/11/2005

1.91870 1.91960 1.91960 1.90460 1.88160 1.88350 1.87520 1.8690 1.87130 1.87050 1.87630 1.87790 1.89110 1.88280 1.86950 1.87170 1.87030 1.86040 1.86710 1.87180 1.87320 1.87920 1.87720 1.87830 1.88110 1.86390 1.88250 1.8880 1.88830 1.88870 1.88760 1.88340 1.88380 1.88620 1.88250 1.8760 1.87580 1.87440 1.85740 1.85490 1.85920 1.86950

http://ww.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

6/1/2009

FXHistory - Historical Currency Exchange Rates

Page 2 of2

12/13/2004 12/14/2004 12/15/2004 12/16/2004 12/17/2004 12/18/2004 12/19/2004 12/20/2004 12/21/2004 12/22/2004 12/23/2004 12/24/2004 12/25/2004 12/26/2004 12/27/2004 12/28/2004 12/29/2004 12/30/2004 12/31/2004

1.91110 1.92490 1.92890 1.94340 1.93210 1.94070 1.9420 1.9450 1.94510 1.92820 1.91420 1.92430 1.92380 1.92380 1.92380 1.93510 1.92780 1.91740 1.92660

02/12/2005 02/13/2005 02/14/2005 02/15/2005 02/16/2005 02/17/2005 02/18/2005 02/19/2005 02/20/2005 02/21/2005 02/22/2005 02/23/2005 02/24/2005 02/25/2005 02/26/2005 02/27/2005 02/28/2005 03/01/2005

1.86810 1.86830 1.86830 1.88850 1.89680 1.88510 1.89570 1.89430 1.89440 1.89450 1.89680 1.91110 1.90970 1.91120 1.9190 1.91920 1.91890 1.92230

Average (121 days): 1.89049

Low: 1.82950
New tQbl~

High: 1. 95500

Same table available in HTML, ASCII, CSV.
FXHistory ~ 1997-2009 by OANDA Corporation

How to Read this table:
Each daily rate is the average ASK price for the day, The AVERAGE rate is the average of all the ASK prices for the given time period. The HIGH rate is the highest BID rate for the given time period. The LOW rate is the lowest BID rate for the given time period.

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http://ww.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory

6/1/2009

DECLARATION OF SERVICE I am an attorney admitted to practice in this district. I hereby certify, under penalty of perjury, that on this 1st day of June, 2009, I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing document to be served on the persons listed below: 1) through this court's ECF system, 2) by e-mail, and/or 3) by mail, postage prepaid: ERNST & YOUNG GLOBAL LIMITED Becket House, 1 Lambeth Palace Rd. London SE1 7EU, United Kingdom ERNST & YOUNG S.A. 7 Pare d'Activite Syrdall Munsbach L5365 Luxembourg Jules Brody ([e-mail]) Patrick Kevin Slyne STULL, STULL & BRODY 6 East 45th Street New York, NY 10017 Robert S. Schachter ([e-mail]) ZWERLING, SCHACHTER & ZWERLING 41 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010 William P. Hammer, Esq. ERNST & YOUNG LLP 5 Times Square, 36th Floor New York, New York 10036-6530 Lawrence J. Zweifach, Esq. GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP 200 Park Avenue New York, NY 10166-0193 Timothy Joseph Burke ([e-mail]) STULL, STULL & BRODY 10940 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2300 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Catherine A. Torell, Esq. ([e-mail]) COHEN, MILSTEIN, SELLERS & TOLL, P.L.L.C. 150 East 52nd Street 30th Floor New York, NY 10022 Samuel Howard Rudman ([e-mail]) COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS, LLP 58 South Service Road Suite 200 Melville, NY 11747 GENEVALOR, BENBASSAT & CIE 7, rue Versonnex CH-1207 Geneva Switzerland

Steven J. Toll, Esq. Daniel S. Sommers, Esq. COHEN, MILSTEIN, SELLERS & TOLL, P.L.L.C. 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 500, West Tower Washington, DC 20005 Jacob Sabo, Esq. The Tower # 3 Daniel Frisch St. Tel Aviv, Israel

STEPHANE BENBASSAT 7, rue Versonnex CH-1207 Geneva Switzerland FRIEHLING & HOROWITZ 4 High Tor Rd. New City, NY 10956

ALBERTO BENBASSAT 7, rue Versonnex CH-1207 Geneva Switzerland Susan L. Saltzstein ([e-mail]) William J. O'Brien ([e-mail]) SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP Four Times Square New York, New York 10036-6522 Attorneys for Defendant Pioneer Alternative Investment Management Limited BANK MEDICI S.A. Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria SONJA KOHN Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria HERALD FUND SPC Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria HERALD USA FUND Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria WERNER TRIPOLT Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria

BERNARD L. MADOFF 885 Third Avenue New York, New York 10022 BANK MEDICI AG Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria PETER SCHEITHAUER Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria HERALD FUND SPC PO Box 30B Ufllend Heues Oranti Cayman Kri 1104 HERALD LUXEMBURG FUND Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria

JOHN HOLLIWELL Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT 1010 Wien, Schottengasse 6-8 A-1010 Vienna Austria ALFRED SIMON 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg JOHANNES P. SPALEK 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg JAMES E. O'NEILL 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg DECLAN MURRAY 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg MICHAEL WHEATON 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg PRIMEO EXECUTIVE FUND 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg FRIEDRICH PFEFFER WFE-Consulting Fuhrenweg 27 D-31515 Wunstorf Germany

HELMUTH E. FREY Operngasse 6/4 Vienna, 1010 Austria UNICREDIT S.A. Piazza Cordusio 20123 Milan Italy KARL E. KANIAK 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg NIGEL H. FIELDING 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg ALBERTO LA ROCCA 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg URSULA RADEL-LESZCZYNSKI 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg PRIMEO SELECT FUND 13 Rue Goethe, B P 413 L-2014 Luxembourg THEMA INTERNATIONAL FUND PLC 3 George's Dock IFSC Dublin 1 Ireland FRANCO MUGNAI Via Leone XIII_n.27 1-20145 Milan Italy

DAVID T. SMITH c/o Equus Asset Management Partners Bermudiana Arcade 27 Queen Street Hamilton HM 11 Bermuda DANIEL MORRISSEY William Fry Solicitors Fitzwilton House Wilton Place Dublin 2 Ireland HSBC SECURITIES SERVICES, S.A. c/o Chris Wilcockson Managing Director, HSS 40 Avenue Monterey B.P. 413, L-2014 Luxembourg HSBC INSTITUTIONAL TRUST SERVICES (IRELAND) LIMITED c/o Ronnie Griffin 1 Grand Canal Square Grand Canal Harbour Dublin 2 Ireland PRICE WATERHOUSECOOPERS, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS One Spencer Dock North Wall Quay Dublin 1 Ireland PIONEER ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS 1 George's Quay Plaza George's Quay Dublin 2 Ireland

GERALD J. P. BRADY Birch Hollow Upper Kilmacud Road Dundrum Dublin 14 Ireland HSBC HOLDINGS PLC c/o Chris Wilcockson Managing Director, HSS 40 Avenue Monterey B.P. 413, L-2014 Luxembourg HSBC SECURITIES SERVICES (LUXEMBURG) S.A. 40 Avenue Monterey P.O. Box 413, L-2014 Luxembourg HSBC SECURITIES SERVICES (IRELAND) LIMITED c/o Rosemary Leahy 1 Grand Canal Square Grand Canal Harbour Dublin 2 Ireland PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED 1 Embankment Place London WC2N 6RH United Kingdom BA WORLDWIDE FUND MANAGEMENT, LTD c/o HWR Services P.O. Box 71 Road Town Tortola B.V.I.

BA WORLDWIDE MANAGEMENT LTD c/o HWR Services P.O. Box 71 Road Town Tortola B.V.I. HANNES SALETA c/o HWR Services P.O. Box 71 Road Town Tortola B.V.I. BANK OF BERMUDA (LUXEMBOURG) S.A. 6 Front St. Hamilton, HM 11 Bermuda BANK OF BERMUDA P.O. Box 513 GT HSBC House 68 West Bay Road Grand Cayman Cayman Islands PRIMEO FUND c/o BANK OF BERMUDA (CAYMAN) LIMITED P.O. Box 513 GT HSBC House 68 West Bay Road Grand Cayman Cayman Islands

HERALD C. NOGRASEK c/o HWR Services P.O. Box 71 Road Town Tortola B.V.I. NICOLA A. CORSETTI c/o HWR Services P.O. Box 71 Road Town Tortola B.V.I. BANK OF BERMUDA (LUXEMBOURG) S.A. 13 rue Goethe L-1637 Luxembourg BANK OF BERMUDA (CAYMAN) LIMITED P.O. Box 513 GT HSBC House 68 West Bay Road Grand Cayman Cayman Islands

_______________S/_________________ Thomas J. Kennedy (TK-9989)