Good news for those of you who keep asking when you’ll be able to file claims, the Traffic Monsoon Receiver has sought claims process approval.
Last month we reported the claims process was moving forward, and the first step now is getting court approval.
Unless there’s some extraordinary circumstances we’re not aware of, claims process approval is typically a formality.
The Receiver’s investigation into Traffic Monsoon has revealed
there are over 100,000 persons holding claims in excess of $114,000,000 against the Receivership Estate.
This is weighed up against the $53.1 million the Receivership is sitting on.
As per as supportive affidavit filed by the Receiver;
Although my investigation shows that there are over $114 million in claims, which is greater than approximately $53.1 million I currently hold, some investors with claims may not file them, thus reducing the claims pool and allowing more resources to pay others who make timely claims.
Also, some investors’ claims may ultimately be determined to be much greater than anticipated by me because of evidence they may be able to provide in support of their claims.
PayPal is also a potential spanner in the works, as they’re seeking a $3 million recovery due to Traffic Monsoon chargebacks they processed.
PayPal has informally asserted it has a claim in excess of $3,000,000 against the Receivership Estate.
Not only is this alleged claim almost three times larger than the largest estimated investor claim, but the nature of the claim is complicated and includes potential rights of subrogation by PayPal to the claims of investors.
That last part is worth noting, as you can bet there are going to be some Traffic Monsoon victims who try to double dip (filing a claim despite having received a PayPal chargeback).
The Receiver’s approval motion details the setting up of a Claim Portal, through which Traffic Monsoon victims will be able to file claims.
Note that these are claims for actual losses that are verifiable. Claims attempting to recover monopoly money Traffic Monsoon returns are guaranteed to be denied.
As I write this a Status Conference was scheduled for December 17th. It was scheduled on December 16th (the same day as the Receiver’s motion), so I doubt we’ll get a claims process decision out of it.
The Receiver’s motion does request a March 20th, 2020 bar date, so approval should be soon either way.
The Receiver has advised she has some 580,000 emails connected to Traffic Monsoon Traffic accounts, all of which will be sent notification of the claims portal once approved.
Pending approval of the Traffic Monsoon victim claims process, stay tuned.
Footnote: Any robo comments asking when claims can be filed or distributions made will be marked as spam.
Update 21st December 2019 – The Receiver’s proposed claims process received court approval on December 20th.