New report details property, various vehicles in J.V. Huffman case

J.V. Huffman Jr. owns 10 pieces of property, a condo and 10 cars. He also has timeshares in multiple resorts in the Walt Disney Vacation Club in Florida.

The receiver appointed by the federal court in the Huffman and Biltmore Financial Group Inc. issued a second report Tuesday.

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 is locating and identifying all of the assets Huffman and his company might have that were purchased with investors' funds.

A preliminary report was filed in December, revealing many of Huffman's assets. The second report contains a more detailed account of Huffman's holdings, including nearly $2 million that Huffman paid for cars and nearly $130,000 for watercraft.

Huffman is in the Catawba County jail under a $1 million secured bond, charged with four felony counts of securities fraud and four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense.

He's 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. Up to 500 people invested $25 million with Huffman's company, Biltmore Financial Group Inc., beginning in 1991 and ending Nov. 7 with his arrest. His next court appearance is Monday.

Property

Huffman owns 10 tracts of land in the Catawba County area worth $1,383,300. Of that property, more than 25 acres worth $892,300 were a gift from his parents, Doris and J.V. Huffman Sr., according to the receiver's report. The majority of the land that comprises Huffman's home was a gift from his parents.

According to the receiver's report, Huffman's parents gave him 5.87 acres at 3400 Wishing Well Lane in Claremont in April 1985. He received an additional parcel of 1.911 acres, at 3410 Wishing Well Lane, in December 1989. In November 2006, Huffman's parents gave him two additional tracts on Wishing Well Lane — 4.839 acres and 12.79 acres. His parents live next door to him.

The only land Huffman purchased on Wishing Well Lane was three smaller parcels. In 2000, Huffman purchased 0.171 acres from a neighbor on Bethany Church Road. In 2002, Huffman purchased a 0.294-acre portion and another 1.111-acre portion. These three tracts comprise 3364 Wishing Well Lane.

Huffman did buy other property around the area. In March 2005, Huffman bought property on Claremont Road in Newton for $95,000, according to the receiver's report. In December 2006, he purchased a house on West 20th Street in Newton from his relatives for $50,000.

Last year, Huffman purchased two more properties — one on Bethany Church Road in Claremont, near his home, for $81,500, and the other on east N.C. 10 for $99,000. That property has a vacant building on it.

Huffman also owns a property on Freedom Drive in Charlotte that he bought in 2007 for $150,000.

According to the receiver's report, there's petroleum contamination from a leaking underground storage tank within 500 feet of this property. The receiver's report did not say what will be done about it.

The only property that has any financial burden on it is Huffman's primary property, at 3400 Wishing Well Lane. Huffman secured an equity line of credit for $180,000 against the property's deed of trust.

All of the other properties are owned free and clear.

In addition to these properties, Huffman also owns a condo in Boone, which he bought for $280,000 in August 2006. The property value has dropped significantly since the purchase — it's currently worth $205,400.

Timeshares

Huffman has numerous timeshares in Florida. According to the receiver's report, Huffman and Gilda, his wife, purchased their first interest in Disney's Beach Club Villa in March 2002 for $30,000, financing $24,000 of the cost. Nearly a year later, the Huffmans purchased another interest in the same resort, for a different unit, for $16,800, financing $15,120 of the amount.

In November 2003, the Huffmans purchased two undivided timeshare interests at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort for $17,800 each, financing $15,020 for both. In July 2004, the Huffmans purchased another undivided interest at the resort. They paid $19,000 and didn't finance the cost, the receiver's report states.

The Huffmans didn't purchase any additional timeshare interests until January 2008, when they paid two undivided interests on one villa at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The interest was $20,800 for each interest share, which the Huffmans did not finance.

In September 2008, the Huffmans purchased two additional undivided interests, this time at two units at the Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Both interests were $22,400, and weren't financed, the report states.

Other property

The receiver also uncovered property in Myrtle Beach, S.C., that Huffman is affiliated with. According to the report, Huffman, doing business as Biltmore Financial Group, entered into a site lease agreement for two lots at the Ocean Lakes Campground.

The first agreement, in May 2006, was to purchase the lease rights and personal property, including a building, for $244,000. Huffman initially paid a down payment of $100,000. Huffman owes the person he purchased the property from $138,000, according to the receiver's report.

According to current property appraisals, the property is worth $128,500.

The second lease agreement, made in April 2008, was to purchase the lease rights and personal property, which also includes a building, for $354,000. Huffman made another down payment of $100,000, and was financing the remaining $254,000 with the original owner. Huffman owes that person $228,578.26. The property is valued at $251,900.

Because of the lease agreement, the Huffmans must make annual lease payments of $13,920 to Ocean Lakes Campground — $6,420 for the first property, and $7,500 for the second.

Panthers suite

Biltmore Financial Group entered into an agreement with Panthers Football LLC in September 2007 to lease a 14-person suite for nine years with an annual fee of $82,000. That included tickets to all pre-season and regular-season home games. Biltmore Financial Group also had to pay a security deposit of $82,000, which Panthers Football, LLC still has, according to the receiver's report.

Cars and other equipment

The receiver has obtained many of the certificates of title for Huffman's cars. There are 10 vehicles Huffman's known to have owned, including a 2008 Aston Martin, which Huffman bought for $194,074. Other high-dollar cars include a 2007 Mercedes Benz AMG S65, which cost Huffman $187,082, and a 2007 Mercedes Benz CLK63 AMG Cabrio, which cost him $104,606.

The receiver's report lists that Huffman paid $1,940,740 for six of the vehicles. Vehicles that the receiver doesn't yet know how much Huffman paid include a 2007 Pontiac G-6, a 2003 Ford Excursion, a 1939 Cadillac V16 and a 2007 Prevost Motor Home Featherlight Conversion. In his last report, the receiver listed that Huffman had the motor home insured for $825,000.

Huffman also purchased a 35-foot Chaparral boat for $122,000 and two jet skis for $7,875.

He spent more than $60,000 on lawn equipment, including a John Deere loader, a Bobcat, a Komatsu Trackhoe and a forklift.

The receiver is still trying to find information on four trailers that are on Huffman's property.

Other information

About $180,000 of Huffman's and the Biltmore Financial Group's assets were frozen when he was arrested. The receiver has deposited the assets into an account at Firstrust Bank.

The receiver is still working to liquidate Huffman and Gilda's life insurance policies, which are worth $140,000. The receiver is also trying to get Huffman and Gilda's permission to cancel their four children's policies. The receiver was working on this during the report in December, as well.

The receiver also is in negotiation with the N.C. Secretary of State to get the estimated $100,000 in cash seized when the home was searched Nov. 7, the day Huffman was arrested.

What's next

The receiver has received a proposal from an auctioneer about selling some or all of the properties. He said he's also received some offers to purchase some of the properties. To try to get the best price for them, the receiver will get an appraisal firm to appraise the properties, and will develop a property disposition plan for the court. However, someone can offer to buy a property prior to the approval of the plan, with the offer submitted to the court.

A deposition has been scheduled, so the receiver can speak with Emily Huffman and Justin Cansler about money Huffman may have paid as a down payment for their home in Hickory, as well as money Huffman may have paid for cars the pair currently owns.

The receiver is in the process of liquidating some of Huffman's assets. Some of the items, like business equipment, were leased or purchased with unsecured loans.

The receiver has also made copies of Biltmore Financial Group's financial records, and accountants are reviewing them to determine the transactions between the business and the investors.

So far, 258 investor claims, representing 356 total investors have been filed with the receiver. The receiver urges anyone who hasn't contacted him, or who hasn't listed a current address, to do so immediately, so that the investors will receive a fair distribution of Huffman's assets.