Welcome
Welcome to the website established by the Court appointed Receiver Kelly Crawford. Mr. Crawford was appointed the Receiver by the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division (the “Receivership Court”) in a lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Defendants Kikit & Mess Investments, LLC and Abner Alejandro Tinoco in Case No. 3:21-CV-00237-DCG. The purpose of this website is to provide information regarding the receivership to the investors who lost money due to the actions of the Defendants.
About
The Receiver
Kelly Crawford is an attorney in Dallas, Texas. He has served as the receiver or counsel to the receiver in more than 15 cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Federal Trade Commission during the past 20 years. He has been appointed the receiver by federal courts in each of the four districts of Texas, as well as by the federal court for the Southern District of New York. He is a founder of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.
The Receiver Kelly Crawford may be contacted by telephone at (214) 420-4330 or email. When contacting Mr. Crawford, if he is not available please leave a message and either Mr. Crawford or one of his attorneys will respond to your message.
TIMELINE
- 10/12/21
Statutory Restraining Order Filed
United States District Court Western District of Texas El Paso Division files Statutory Restraining Order
- 10/26/21
Court enters Consent Orders
- 11/1/21
Court stays all proceedings until it rules on pending motions
- 11/2/21
Court Enters Order Establishing Procedures for Receivership
- 11/12/21
Court enters Order establishing claims process for the receivership
Pursuant to this Order, by December 15, 2021 the Receiver will mail to all known investors and creditors a Proof of Claim form for the investors and creditors to complete. Each Investor and Creditor will need to complete the Proof of Claim, sign the Proof of Claim, and mail it back to the Receiver by no later than February 15, 2022. For more details regarding the Claims Process see the FAQ’s below.
The Receiver is doing his best to recover assets from the Receivership Defendants, but please be advised there may not be sufficient funds or assets recovered to fully repay the Investors or Creditors.
- 12/8/21
Receiver files Initial Report
View the Initial Report of the Receiver
- 03/16/22
Notice of Sale and Hearing
View the Notice of Sale and Hearing
- 04/14/22
Doc 53 Second Report of the Receiver
- 04/22/22
Doc 75 Third Report of the Receiver
- 05/13/22
Doc 82 Receiver's final claims report
- 05/13/22
Receivers Final Claims Report - Appendix
- 05/16/22
Public Notice - 425 Sharondale
- 06/14/22
Receiver's Fourth Status Report
- 06/14/22
Exhibit A to Receiver's Fourth Status Report
- 08/18/22
Doc 96 Fifth Report of the Receiver
- 10/17/22
The Court Sets a Hearing and Briefing Schedule to Consider Objections to the Receiver’s Revised Claims Report
- 11/11/22
Doc 107 Sixth Report of The Receiver - Tinoco
- 11/28/22
Doc 110 Receiver's Amended Claims Report
- 12/05/22
Hearing on Objections to Receiver’s Revised Claims will be postponed until January 12, 2023. Updated Hearing Notice will be posted when received.
- 1/23/23
Court Approves Claims and Interim Distribution
- 4/3/23
Consent Order of Tinoco in Resolution of Show Cause Hearing to Hold in Contempt
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A receivership is an equitable remedy in which a court takes jurisdiction and possession over the assets and records of an individual or entity and places them under the control of a receiver. The powers of the receiver are set forth in the Court order that appoints the receiver, which is referred to as the “Receivership Order”. Once the assets or records are placed in receivership they are under the exclusive control of the receiver and the individual or entity subject to the receivership order is no longer authorized to possess or control the assets or records.
The Receivership Order places the assets and records of the following individuals and entities in receivership and subject to the control of the Receiver Kelly Crawford:
- Kikit & Mess Investments, also known as kikitnmessinv.com
- Abner Alejandro Tinoco
- All affiliates or subsidiaries owned or controlled by any of the foregoing
Pursuant to the Receivership Order the Receiver will take possession of the assets of the entities and individuals in receivership. With the permission of the Receivership Court, the Receiver will sell or liquidate the assets. The Receiver will request the Receivership Court to establish a claims process for investors who lost money due to the actions of the Defendants. Similar to a bankruptcy, investors will be asked to complete a proof of claim and submit it to the Receiver for the Receiver’s review. The Receiver will submit the claims to the Receivership Court and after notice and hearing the Receivership Court will determine the amount of claim allowed for each investor. With the approval of the Receivership Court, the Receiver will distribute the monies available in the receivership estate to all of those who hold claims approved by the Receivership Court.
It is too early to provide any estimate of the amount, if any, that will be available to be returned to investors who lost money. It depends upon the total amount of assets that are recovered by the Receiver and the total amount of claims allowed by the Receivership Court. As more information becomes available to the Receiver, this response will be updated.
At this point it is too early to predict how long the receivership will last. However, receiverships usually last many months and can last more than a year or two.
The Receiver cannot provide any accounting advice. You should inform your accountant of the receivership and ask your accountant to determine how you should treat any losses you have suffered for tax purposes.
The Receiver and those he has employed to assist him in the receivership are paid out of the assets recovered in the receivership. The Receiver is required to file a fee petition with the Receivership Court and may only be paid upon the Receivership Court entering an Order approving the fees and expenses of the Receiver. The Receiver is not employed by the Court, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or the State. In addition, the Receiver has no relationship to and is not affiliated with any of the Defendants.
If you have any information regarding the Defendants that you believe would assist the Receiver in locating and taking possession of assets of the Defendants, please contact the Receiver immediately. In addition, if you are contacted by any of the Defendants or solicited by any person or entity controlled by any of the Defendants, please contact the Receiver immediately.
Either by first class mail or by email.
Simply fill out the Proof of Claim by answering the questions that are asked, attach copies of relevant documents such as any contracts you signed, or statements you received, sign your name and return the Proof of Claim to the Receiver before February 15, 2022. You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be sent so that it is received by the Receiver before February 15, 2022.
The Court ordered the Receiver to mail out the Proof of Claim forms by no later than December 15, 2021. If you have not received a Proof of Claim form from the Receiver by December 22, 2021 you should contact the Receiver.
If you have not previously notified the Receiver that you are a creditor, you should do so immediately. The Receiver will send you a Proof of Claim form to complete and return to the Receiver before February 15, 2022. You may return it to the Receiver by mail or by email, but it must be sent so that it is received by the Receiver before February 15, 2022.
The Receiver will make a recommendation to the Court regarding the amount of claim that should be recognized by the Court for each investor. This recommendation will be in the Receiver’s Claim Report. The Receiver’s Claim Report will also make recommendations to the Court regarding the amount of claim that should be recognized by the Court for each creditor. The Receiver’s Claim Report must be filed with the Court by March 15, 2022. A copy of the Receiver’s Claim Report will be posted on the receivership website and mailed to each investor and creditor. Each investor or creditor can review the Receiver’s recommendation and if the investor or creditor does not agree with the recommendation of the Receiver the investor or creditor can notify the Receiver that he or she objects to the recommendation and explain the basis for the objection. Objections must be mailed to the Receiver so that they are received by the Receiver by no later than April 15, 2022. The Receiver has until May 15, 2022 in which to submit the objections to the Court and if the Court deems it necessary, the Court will set a date and time for a hearing to consider the objections.
In order to receive any money from the Receiver you will need to have a claim that is approved by the Court and be included in the class of persons the Court authorizes the Receiver to pay. The Court will not enter an Order establishing the amount of the claims until after May 15, 2022. Therefore, the Receiver will not be authorized to make a distribution to approved claimants until the Receiver proposes a distribution plan to the Court for the payment of claims and the Court approves the distribution plan. It is unlikely that a distribution plan will be approved by the Court until the summer of 2022. Once the Court approves a distribution plan, the Receiver will be authorized to issue checks to approved claimants pursuant to the distribution plan.
It depends on what class you claim falls into. The claims will be in two different classes: 1) claims of investors; and 2) creditor claims. With respect to creditor claims, the Court will determine who holds a secured claim against property of the receivership. The Court will decide whether both classes of claims will be paid or if, for example, creditor claims should be subordinated to payment of claims held by investors.
If the Court authorizes the Receiver to make a distribution to you as an approved claimant, the amount you will be paid will depend upon the total amount of approved claims the Court authorizes the Receiver to pay, the amount of money the Receiver has recovered in which to pay approved claimants, and the formula the Court authorizes the Receiver to use for determining the amount of the payment. Accordingly, at this point, the amount you will be paid by the Receiver is unknown.