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Lawyer finds Huffman has at least $4.3 million in assets

Claremont man accused of securities fraud lists other property with undetermined values

ASSET DETAILS

Property: $1,588,700 (14 properties total; three properties have unknown values; Huffman also has four trailers with unknown values)

Vehicles: $825,000 (10 vehicles total, nine have unknown values)

Boat: $189,000 (also has two Jet Skis with unknown values)

Bank accounts: $186,736.51

Life insurance policies: $140,000

Cash: $100,000

Two loans to others: $165,000

Art: $871,000

Garden equipment: $60,000 (10 items total, three of which have unknown values)

Jewelry: $110,000

Panthers tickets: $90,000

* Information gathered by the receiver

HUFFMAN DETAILS

J.V. Huffman Jr., 45, president of Biltmore Financial Group Inc., was arrested Nov. 7 and charged with four counts of felony securities fraud and four counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense. He is in jail under a $1 million secured bond.

Huffman is accused of issuing promissory notes through his company. He told investors the funds would be used to buy and sell real estate mortgages or deeds of trust. Investigators with the N.C. Secretary of State’s office believe Huffman took investors’ money for personal use.

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: December 30, 2008

CHARLOTTE - A receiver appointed in the J.V. Huffman Jr. case found that Huffman owns or controls more than $4.3 million in assets.

The federal court appointed a receiver in the Huffman and Biltmore Financial Group Inc. case Nov. 13.

The receiver's job is to preserve the property when litigation has been brought against a person or when property might be lost or removed without them. The receiver's also been asked to locate and identify all of the assets Huffman and his company might have that were purchased with investors' funds.

Huffman is accused of lying to neighbors, family and friends for 17 years, telling them he bought and sold securities, as he took millions of dollars from them to pay for his lavish lifestyle in a Ponzi scheme. About 500 people invested $25 million with Huffman's company, Biltmore Financial Group Inc., beginning in 1991 and ending Nov. 7 with his arrest.

Huffman, 45, has been indicted on four felony counts of securities fraud and four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense. He is in jail under a $1 million secured bond.

In the preliminary report, filed in federal District Court on Monday, the assets the receiver listed include property, vehicles, jewelry, construction and yard equipment, artwork, cash in bank accounts and more.

Property

Huffman and his wife, Gilda, own, have a leasehold or a timeshare on 14 properties. Nine of these properties, valuing $1,241,600, are in Catawba County. Five of those properties comprise Huffman's home and surrounding property on Wishing Well Lane in Claremont, according to the receiver's report.

Huffman also owns property on Claremont Road and West 20th Street in Newton, as well as East N.C. 10 in Claremont. He still owes $180,000 on his home in Catawba County.

Huffman also owns property on Freedom Drive in Charlotte, a condo in Boone, leaseholds on two properties at the Ocean Lakes Campground in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and a timeshare at Walt Disney World in Florida. A value for the last three hasn't been established yet.

In addition to these properties, Huffman owned four trailers on his property. Two of them are small utility trailers. The value of the trailers hasn't been determined.

Vehicles and watercraft

According to the receiver's report, Huffman owned a 2007 Pontiac G-6, a 2003 Ford Excursion, a 2007 Chevy truck, a 2008 Chevy truck, a 2007 Mercedes Benz CLK63, a 2007 Mercedes Benz AMG S65 and a 2008 Mercedes Benz GL550. Although the report listed the value of these vehicles as unknown, Huffman cited the fair market value of these seven vehicles as $400,000 on a document he filed with the clerk of court's office Nov. 17 when he applied for a court-appointed attorney and was denied.

The receiver also listed a 2008 Aston Martin DB9, a 1939 Cadillac V16 and a 2007 Prevost Motor Home Featherlight Conversion as vehicles owned by Huffman. The value of these three vehicles is also unknown, although Huffman had the motor home insured for $825,000.

Huffman also owned two jet skis and a 35-foot Chaparral boat, which is insured for $189,000, according to the receiver's report.

Bank accounts, cash and life insurance

The receiver's located nearly $181,000 in several bank accounts Huffman held at First Citizens Bank.

The accounts were in his and Gilda's names, Biltmore Financial, JVH Ministries Inc. and Cyber Wealth Builders LLC. He and Gilda had about $19,124 in their joint account. Biltmore Financial Group had about $156,034 in it. There was $5,000 in the Cyber Wealth Builders account and about $702 in the JVH Ministries account.

Huffman also had about $6,000 in two money market accounts at different institutions.

The money is being liquidated and put into an account operated by the receiver.

Huffman, Gilda and their four children also had several life insurance policies with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, totaling about $140,000. According to the receiver's preliminary report, Huffman and Gilda's policies are being canceled and liquidated. The receiver is working with Huffman and Gilda to "obtain their consent to cancel the children's policies."

The receiver also states in its preliminary report that the N.C. Secretary of State seized about $100,000 in cash, which is money investors gave Huffman to invest for them. The receiver is trying to determine the exact amount of cash the Secretary of State has, and to get control of it.

Huffman also has made two loans. One, of $40,000 to an individual, is secured by a deed of trust. The second loan, of $125,000 to a business, is unsecured.

Art

Huffman purchased about $750,000 in art, primarily from the Park West Gallery in Southfield, Mich., although some of the art is from the Wentworth Gallery in Atlanta, Ga. Although Huffman owns the art, many of the pieces are currently in Park West Gallery's possession, according to the receiver's report.

Huffman also purchased several photographs, which were insured for $121,000, and are being delivered to Huffman's home.

The receiver is trying to get control of all artwork, and determine the best way to sell the art for the highest price.

Construction/garden equipment

Huffman owned a John Deere loader, a John Deere tractor with attachments, a Komatsu Trackhoe, a forklift, scissor lift, Bobcat, small utility vehicle, walk-behind Bobcat with attachments and two Toro lawn mowers.

The equipment is worth more than $60,000, without the cost of the John Deere tractor or Toro lawn mowers being known.

Jewelry

Several pieces of jewelry owned by Gilda are being stored in a safe deposit box. While the pieces are currently being appraised, the preliminary estimate is $110,000.

According to the receiver's report, "Gilda Huffman has agreed to allow the receiver to sell and liquidate the jewelry with the proceeds being used to pay investors claims."

Panthers suite

Ever wonder how much it costs for one of those suites at the Carolina Panthers football game? For Huffman's company, Biltmore Financial Group, one of the suites at Bank of America Stadium was leased for a deposit of $90,000.

In an effort to recoup some of the deposit, the receiver is selling the game tickets at face value, but is not offering food or alcohol in the suite during the games, according to the report. If the seats were not purchased, it "would cause the suite to be forfeited and that, in the event that the suite could be released, the deposit would be returned."

What's next

Over the next three months, the receiver will follow its preliminary report with a more in-depth review of Huffman and Biltmore Financial Group's assets, transfers of property and what can be recovered.

There were several certificates of title missing for the vehicles and trailers, which the receiver also hopes to locate or get duplicates of. Some of them may be in documents seized by the Secretary of State's office, so the receiver will get copies of all the documents seized.

According to the preliminary report, 351 people filed claims through the receiver's Web site as being victims of Huffman's Ponzi scheme. Several of those names were duplicates, though, so at this point, it's still unclear exactly how many victims there are.

However, the receiver urges all victims to contact him soon, in order for victims to receive compensation. A copy of all the victims' names and contact information will be forwarded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The receiver said there will be a cutoff date for investors to notify him and the SEC in order to be eligible to receive compensation, so investors shouldn't wait.

The receiver has received "unconditional cooperation from the Huffman family in answering questions, in providing documents and otherwise in assisting the receiver. This cooperation has been open and candid."

Huffman and Gilda have been questioned regarding bank accounts and money transfers to the Bahamas, as well as property in Western states. Both deny any truth to the rumors, according to the receiver's report.

The receiver will supplement this report on or before March 31.