Warren Capital receiver Michael Kasolas and his attorneys at Arent Fox billed nearly $577,000 for fees and expenses for about six weeks through the end of December 2014, according to reports obtained by the North Bay Business Journal.

The professional fees will reduce funds available to victims who lost an estimated $11 million in a Ponzi scheme allegedly perpetrated by Warren Clayton Stephens, the deceased owner of Warren Capital and its subsidiary Warren Equipment Finance, both formerly based in Novato, North Bay Business Journal reported.

Over a period of about 14 years, Stephens sold purportedly secured corporate promissory notes with interest rates averaging about 9% to investors in Warren Equipment Finance. Stephens claimed that the notes were secured by equipment leased to or financed for local businesses through Warren Capital, according to North Bay Business Journal.

Receiver Kasolas reported that as of November 2014, the total amount owed to investors was about $23 million, but that total receivables on 26 leases funded by Warren Equipment Finance were only $335,000. Kasolas is seeking a buyer to liquidate the lease portfolio, North Bay Business Journal reported.

To view the full North Bay Business Journal article, “$577,000 in fees billed in Warren Capital case,” published February 23, 2015, click here.