Micah Dortch, managing partner in the Potts Law Firm’s Dallas office, has been appointed as a Special Receiver in litigation originally brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against a group of Texas businessmen. That lawsuit seeks to recover funds from what was characterized as a fraudulent investment scheme directed by Thurman P. Bryant III of Frisco and Arthur E. Wammel of Pearland, along with affiliated companies and individuals.
Evidence in the case of Ecklund v. Wells Fargo Bank revealed that, in less than three years, the defendants were able to withdraw or transfer more than $20 million in cash from Wells Fargo Bank accounts in violation of industry standards and the bank’s own policies. Despite numerous five-figure and six-figure cash withdrawals, Wells Fargo management never verified, questioned, or restricted any of the activities.
According to the SEC complaint which was filed in 2017, the defendants raised more than $22 million from more than 100 investors to purportedly fund short-term mortgage loans for later sale to long-term lenders. In fact, the SEC says that no such program existed and that Mr. Bryant and Mr. Wammel were operating a Ponzi scheme with limited returns paid to investors from monies raised from other investors.
Mr. Dortch has been appointed by the court to further investigate the role of Wells Fargo in the matter and to seek financial compensation on behalf of the defrauded investors. The recently filed complaint alleges that Wells Fargo failed to follow its fiduciary role.
“As stated in the complaint, Wells Fargo either knew about the scheme or willfully ignored the questionable actions being made in violation of its own internal rules,” said Mr. Dortch. “I’m honored to take on this role and gain a just resolution for these innocent victims.”
Case: Ecklund v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 4:18-cv-00452-ALM, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman.
About Mr. Dortch
Raised in a small town in Texas, Micah was taught the value of hard work and community at a young age. Mr. Dortch represents clients in civil litigation cases throughout the United States, including breach of contract, business torts, fraudulent transfer, copyright infringement, financial fraud, and securities class actions.
Mr. Dortch has been successful in seeking retribution on behalf of numerous civil ligation clients. In 2014, Micah was awarded the Fraud “verdict of the year” for his role as lead trial counsel in Rodney Tow vs. John H. Speer, which resulted in a return to creditors of millions of dollars in fraudulently taken assets of the Debtor. Mr. Dortch also served as class counsel in the ERISA class action, Diebold, et al. v. Northern Trust Investments, N.A. et al., where the Court approved a collective settlement of $36 million dollars for class representatives resulting in millions of dollars returned to investors.
Mr. Dortch has been recognized for his hard work and dedication, being named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Texas (Thomson Reuters services), and honored with the Top 100 award by The National Trial Lawyers.
