X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 23:17:58 -0500 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from omr-m10.mx.aol.com ([64.12.143.86] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 6.0.7) with ESMTPS id 6641632 for lml@lancaironline.net; Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:31:37 -0500 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=64.12.143.86; envelope-from=vtailjeff@aol.com Received: from mtaout-mb04.r1000.mx.aol.com (mtaout-mb04.r1000.mx.aol.com [172.29.41.68]) by omr-m10.mx.aol.com (Outbound Mail Relay) with ESMTP id 9B0E5701B4F8E for ; Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:31:03 -0500 (EST) Received: from [172.20.3.26] (unknown [12.133.209.130]) (using TLSv1 with cipher AES128-SHA (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by mtaout-mb04.r1000.mx.aol.com (MUA/Third Party Client Interface) with ESMTPSA id 0C8CDE0000A6 for ; Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:31:02 -0500 (EST) From: Jeff Edwards Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=Apple-Mail-3EB4282D-0ABC-482D-9C2C-31EC4E27E5DE Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) Subject: Re: [LML] Re: Anatomy of a plane theft ? N484E X-Original-Message-Id: X-Original-Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:31:01 -0500 References: In-Reply-To: X-Original-To: Lancair Mailing List X-Mailer: iPad Mail (11B511) x-aol-global-disposition: G x-aol-sid: 3039ac1d294452afc57566ad X-AOL-IP: 12.133.209.130 --Apple-Mail-3EB4282D-0ABC-482D-9C2C-31EC4E27E5DE Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Airplanes do not have "titles", they have certificates of registration. I do= not know if this makes a legal difference.=20 Sent from my iPad > On Dec 16, 2013, at 9:46 PM, PETER WILLIAMS = wrote: >=20 > hi there >=20 > someone on LML mentioned that this plane was for sale. >=20 > i try to follow sales and offerings of Lancair's.=20 >=20 > i came upon this story; i do not know who is right; who is wrong.=20 >=20 > but if one of our guests on this site is considering laying out $200,000, i= t seems that it would be prudent to know how good the title is. >=20 > AND=20 > as a warning to anyone else to keep control of the title of your airp= lane. >=20 > ALL I KNOW > is that i would not like to buy a plane and up in the middle of litiga= tion. >=20 > SEPARATELY=20 > (last month) > we were just offered a twin for sale, by the person in possession; and= that person in possession had no right to sell the airplane and has been or= dered by the court to surrender the plane to the rightful owner >=20 > lotta bad stuff out there >=20 > peter >=20 > To: lml@lancaironline.net > Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:45:07 -0500 > From: joeczabaranek@gmail.com > Subject: [LML] Re: Anatomy of a plane theft ? N484E >=20 > Are there any dissenting opinions? Anatomy of a Plane Theft is posted on a= website dedicated to bashing Dave Riggs. Definitely a biased author, but i= s he accurate? Is there anything those of us in the market for a IVP should= know about this particular tail # that we couldn't find for ourselves with a= n hour of free time and a google search of "N484E"? >=20 > Joe Czabaranek >=20 > On Dec 16, 2013, at 3:41 PM, PETER WILLIAMS = wrote: >=20 >=20 >=20 > Anatomy of a plane theft =E2=80=93 N484E >=20 > September 26, 2011 > I want to start by saying this is by far the BEST post I=E2=80=99ve had th= e opportunity to write for this site. The outcome of this situation is helpi= ng me have a bit more faith in the justice system, karma and the ability for= a good man to prevail against absolute evil.=20 > So, lets talk about how to steal an airplane in 7 Easy steps=E2=80=A6. > 1. Find a nice, trusting guy who owns the plane you want to fly and wh= o is frequently out of town on business.=20 > 2. Work out a deal where Nice Guy leases you his airplane.=20 > 3. Suggest to Nice Guy that he set up a corporation in another state t= o hold title to the plane. > 4. Since Nice Guy is gone a lot he=E2=80=99s going to let you set up t= he corporation and handle the paperwork for him. He=E2=80=99ll tell you to s= et it up in his and his wife=E2=80=99s name. But never mind that detail. Jus= t go ahead and set it up in your own. We=E2=80=99ll call it Wright Flight Av= iation, well, because that=E2=80=99s its name. You=E2=80=99ll be keeping the= books and filing all the necessary paperwork each year so Nice Guy never ne= eds to know that not only did you not list him and his wife, you made yourse= lf the sole officer and director. > 5. With the new corporation in place, go ahead and set up a legal leas= e agreement on the plane. In return for the privilege of flying the airplane= , you agree to pay the costs of maintenance, insurance, hangar fees and any n= ecessary repairs. Have Nice Guy sign for the corporation so he thinks everyt= hing is set up right. =20 > 6. Now, you already have ANOTHER company set up that you are sole owne= r of. We=E2=80=99ll call that one Mach I Aviation. Now have (Mach I) paper a= loan to (Wright Flight) for $150,000. Go ahead and sign the papers for both= companies. Next you=E2=80=99ll create a second document. This one will be a= Security Agreement from Wright Flight to Mach I. It will give an interest i= n the plane to your company (Mach I) in case the loan doesn=E2=80=99t get pa= id back. Again, go ahead and sign for both companies yourself. No reason to b= other Nice Guy with the pesky little details is there? > 7. When Wright Flight doesn=E2=80=99t pay the =E2=80=9Cloan=E2=80=9D b= ack (because the real officer of Wright Flight doesn=E2=80=99t even know abo= ut any loan) you can just go ahead and repossess the airplane and transfer r= egistration to yourself. > Detour here =E2=80=93 When Nice Guy finds out that you didn=E2=80=99t set u= p the corporation per his request, he amends the corporate papers with the s= tate to correct your oversight. And when Nice Guy finds out that you damaged= his plane and didn=E2=80=99t provide the insurance you were supposed to, he= =E2=80=99s going to do the only thing he can. Cancel the lease and take back= exclusive possession of his plane. > But that=E2=80=99s OK! Remember you still have that nice little loan agree= ment you created, the agreement Nice Guy airplane owner was never informed a= bout? So just sit back for about 2 years. Right before you get ready to file= bankruptcy you can just file papers that say Wright Flight never paid back M= ach I. Then you can hire a guy to go and repossess the plane. Now that guy m= ay think the paperwork doesn=E2=80=99t look right once Nice Guy talks to him= and explains the situation. No fear. Have repo-man red tag the plane so Nic= e Guy can=E2=80=99t fly away in it. Now it can sit in a hangar for a year or= two and neither one of you can use it. > Nice guy is then going to file a lawsuit in civil court to have the Loan A= greement and Security Agreement cancelled. That=E2=80=99s okay, just be quic= k on your feet and file a =E2=80=9CCertificate of Repossession of Encumbered= Aircraft=E2=80=9D with the FAA. Now the fact you don=E2=80=99t actually HAV= E possession of the plane is just a minor detail, feel free to ignore it. Si= nce the FAA will assume that you actually have possession and that everythin= g you=E2=80=99ve done up to this point WASN=E2=80=99T illegal they will just= transfer that registration right on over to you no questions asked. Viola, y= ou now own a shiny plane (on paper). > Just one problem. > When you enter into a 30 day restraining order that prevents ANYONE from a= ttempting to repossess or convey title to the plane until a decision is made= in the previously mentioned civil action AND agree that no one can operate,= fly or move the plane without written consent of the other party AND agree t= o provide Wright Flight with documentation to substantiate the supposed secu= rity interest Mach I has in the plane you probably shouldn=E2=80=99t turn ar= ound and file Bankruptcy and list the plane as one of your assets (valued at= $250,000).=20 > Sadly, all of the above is exactly what happened to the beautiful Lancair I= V-P, tail number N484E, owned by Nathan East. He=E2=80=99s been fighting for= it ever since. Some of you will know who he is because of the plane, others= will know him as the bass player with the radiant smile who has played with= just about everyone imaginable. But at the heart of this situation he is, q= uite simply, another victim. He was taken advantage of and unabashedly stole= n from. He=E2=80=99s had to spend way too much money, time and energy to rec= laim his OWN plane. > Initially the bankruptcy court ruled against him. That=E2=80=99s a whole =E2= =80=98nother Oprah there. Thankfully, the United States Bankruptcy Appellate= Panel of the Ninth Circuit had a clue. You can read the ruling from them he= re. They reversed and remanded the original decision from the Bankruptcy Cou= rt and made it quite clear what this all meant. > I want to quote a portion of it here to save you some time. This comes fro= m pages 9 & 10: > =E2=80=9CWright Flight opposed, and supported its opposition with a statem= ent of genuine issues in a dispute, a request for judicial notice, and the d= eclarations of both Nathan East and (attorney) Jeffrey Gersh. These document= s essentially indicate that, among other things, > =E2=80=A2 The Aircraft Loan Agreement and the Security Agreement were= invalid under Nevada and California Law > =E2=80=A2 Mach I=E2=80=99s purported security interest in the Aircraf= t was never properly perfected. > =E2=80=A2 The law did not permit a thief to have superior title to th= e true owner > =E2=80=A2 The Trustee stood in the shoes of the thief so the Trustee=E2= =80=99s title could NOT be superior to the true owner, and > =E2=80=A2 It was not clear this matter should be heard at all since R= iggs was not and likely never had been an officer or director of Mach I.=E2=80= =9D > Yes, you read all of that right. The agreements weren=E2=80=99t valid, he=E2= =80=99s a thief and the Bankruptcy Trustee took his word for it in deciding t= hat Dave Riggs had superior ownership over Nathan and the Trustee was WRONG.= And there is evidence that Dave Riggs was never an officer or director of M= ach I (also another story). > What I find horrendous is that it appears that Trustee was saying in the o= riginal ruling that because Mr. East had the right to monetary damages if he= won the civil case he did NOT have the right to get the plane back and it s= hould remain with the Bankruptcy court. They would then sell it, take their s= hare and if anything was left over it could go to the creditors. I object. I= f the plane was his, and was stolen then he should get his plane back. Simpl= e. If the trustee wants money so bad they need to get the Lancair Dave Riggs= is currently flying (N360DR, owned by Whirly Bird Aviation Inc, in Nevada),= the L-39 now owned by Nazarene Aviation Fellowship, the Hummer he drives an= d anything else he=E2=80=99s hidden.=20 > That won=E2=80=99t happen I=E2=80=99m sure but at least the Appellate Cour= t saw fit to clear the way for Mr. East to get his plane back. > The appellate paperwork goes on for a total of 22 pages and it=E2=80=99s t= ruly an interesting and enlightening read. But in the end it boils down to t= his..Nathan East should be able to regain possession of his plane very soon.= > I have not had the pleasure of meeting Nathan personally but I have learne= d enough about him in the course of investigating and discussing this case t= o know that he is a man of kindness and integrity. What he has had to go thr= ough, simply to be able to enjoy his own plane, that I=E2=80=99m sure he wor= ked incredibly hard to be able to have, is a travesty. And while I can=E2=80= =99t do anything to fix that or to make it right again (except cheer LOUDLY w= hen he finally gets to move that plane out of the jail it=E2=80=99s in at Wh= iteman Airport now), I once again feel vindicated in starting this website, b= ecause someone somewhere will be looking to get involved with David Riggs on= e of these days and see this story and save themselves some heartache and a l= ot of money. > Incidents like this are the very reason I created AviationCriminal.com, to= expose the truth and hopefully prevent this kind of travesty from ever happ= ening again.=20 > Here is the plane in question..currently sitting in jail. May she see the s= kies again very soon with her rightful owner. >=20 --Apple-Mail-3EB4282D-0ABC-482D-9C2C-31EC4E27E5DE Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Airplanes do not have "titles", they h= ave certificates of registration. I do not know if this makes a legal differ= ence. 

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 16, 2013, at 9:46 P= M, PETER WILLIAMS <peterp= awaviation@hotmail.com> wrote:

hi there

someone on LML mentioned that this plane wa= s for sale.

i try to follow sales and offerings of Lancair's.
     i came upon this story; i do not know who is right= ; who is wrong.

but if one of our guests on this site is considering= laying out $200,000, it seems that it would be prudent to know how good the= title is.

AND
     as a warning to anyone el= se to keep control of the title of your airplane.

ALL I KNOW
 = ;   is that i would not like to buy a plane and up in the middle o= f litigation.

SEPARATELY
(last month)
    we we= re just offered a twin for sale, by the person in possession; and that perso= n in possession had no right to sell the airplane and has been ordered by th= e court to surrender the plane to the rightful owner

lotta bad stuff o= ut there

peter

To: lml@lancaironline.net
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 20= 13 18:45:07 -0500
From: joecza= baranek@gmail.com
Subject: [LML] Re: Anatomy of a plane theft ? N484E=

Are there any dissenting opinions?  Anatomy of a Plane The= ft is posted on a website dedicated to bashing Dave Riggs.  Definitely a= biased author, but is he accurate?  Is there anything those of us in t= he market for a IVP should know about this particular tail # that we couldn'= t find for ourselves with an hour of free time and a google search of "N484E= "?

Joe Czabaranek

On Dec 16, 2013, at 3:41 PM, PETER WI= LLIAMS <peterpawaviation@= hotmail.com> wrote:



Anatomy of a pla= ne theft =E2=80=93 N484E

=
  = September 26, 2011 =
=09 I want to start by saying t= his is by far the BEST post I=E2=80=99ve had the opportunity to write for this site. The outcome of this situation=20 is helping me have a bit more faith in the justice system, karma and the ability for a good man to prevail against absolute evil.
So, lets talk about how to steal an airplane in 7 Easy steps=E2=80=A6.
1. Find a nice, trusting guy who owns the plane you want to fly and wh= o is frequently out of town on business.
2. Work out a deal where Nice Guy leases you his airplane.
3. Suggest to Nice Guy that he set up a corporation in another state t= o hold title to the plane.
4. Since Nice Guy is gone a lot he=E2=80=99s going to let you set up t= he=20 corporation and handle the paperwork for him. He=E2=80=99ll tell you to set= it=20 up in his and his wife=E2=80=99s name. But never mind that detail. Just go= =20 ahead and set it up in your own. We=E2=80=99ll call it Wright Flight Aviati= on,=20 well, because that=E2=80=99s its name. You=E2=80=99ll be keeping the books a= nd filing=20 all the necessary paperwork each year so Nice Guy never needs to know=20 that not only did you not list him and his wife, you made yourself the=20 sole officer and director.
5. With the new corporation in place, go ahead and set up a legal=20 lease agreement on the plane. In return for the privilege of flying the airplane, you agree to pay the costs of maintenance, insurance, hangar=20 fees and any necessary repairs. Have Nice Guy sign for the corporation=20 so he thinks everything is set up right.
6. Now, you already have ANOTHER company set up that you are sole=20 owner of. We=E2=80=99ll call that one Mach I Aviation. Now have (Mach I) p= aper a loan to (Wright Flight) for $150,000. Go ahead and sign the papers=20 for both companies. Next you=E2=80=99ll create a second document. This one= =20 will be a Security Agreement from Wright Flight to Mach I. It will give an interest in the plane to your company (Mach I) in case the loan=20 doesn=E2=80=99t get paid back. Again, go ahead and sign for both companies=20= yourself. No reason to bother Nice Guy with the pesky little details is there?
7. When Wright Flight doesn=E2=80=99t pay the =E2=80=9Cloan=E2=80=9D b= ack (because the real=20 officer of Wright Flight doesn=E2=80=99t even know about any loan) you can j= ust=20 go ahead and repossess the airplane and transfer registration to=20 yourself.
Detour here =E2=80=93 When Nice Guy finds out that you didn=E2=80=99t set up= the=20 corporation per his request, he amends the corporate papers with the=20 state to correct your oversight. And when Nice Guy finds out that you=20 damaged his plane and didn=E2=80=99t provide the insurance you were supposed= to, he=E2=80=99s going to do the only thing he can. Cancel the lease and take= =20 back exclusive possession of his plane.
But that=E2=80=99s OK! Remember you still have that nice little loan=20 agreement you created, the agreement Nice Guy airplane owner was never=20 informed about? So just sit back for about 2 years. Right before you=20 get ready to file bankruptcy you can just file papers that say Wright=20 Flight never paid back Mach I. Then you can hire a guy to go and=20 repossess the plane. Now that guy may think the paperwork doesn=E2=80=99t l= ook=20 right once Nice Guy talks to him and explains the situation. No fear. =20 Have repo-man red tag the plane so Nice Guy can=E2=80=99t fly away in it. N= ow=20 it can sit in a hangar for a year or two and neither one of you can use=20 it.
Nice guy is then going to file a lawsuit in civil court to have the=20 Loan Agreement and Security Agreement cancelled. That=E2=80=99s okay, just b= e=20 quick on your feet and file a =E2=80=9CCertificate of Repossession of Encumb= ered Aircraft=E2=80=9D with the FAA. Now the fact you don=E2=80=99t actually HA= VE=20 possession of the plane is just a minor detail, feel free to ignore it.=20 Since the FAA will assume that you actually have possession and that=20 everything you=E2=80=99ve done up to this point WASN=E2=80=99T illegal they w= ill just=20 transfer that registration right on over to you no questions asked. =20 Viola, you now own a shiny plane (on paper).
Just one problem.
When you enter into a 30 day restraining order that prevents ANYONE=20 from attempting to repossess or convey title to the plane until a=20 decision is made in the previously mentioned civil action AND agree that no one can operate, fly or move the plane without written consent of=20 the other party AND agree to provide Wright Flight with documentation to substantiate the supposed security interest Mach I has in the plane you probably shouldn=E2=80=99t turn around and file Bankruptcy and list the pla= ne=20 as one of your assets (valued at $250,000).
Sadly, all of the above is exactly what happened to the beautiful=20 Lancair IV-P, tail number N484E, owned by Nathan East. He=E2=80=99s been=20= fighting for it ever since. Some of you will know who he is because of=20 the plane, others will know him as the bass player with the radiant=20 smile who has played with just about everyone imaginable. But at the=20 heart of this situation he is, quite simply, another victim. He was=20 taken advantage of and unabashedly stolen from. He=E2=80=99s had to spend w= ay=20 too much money, time and energy to reclaim his OWN plane.
Initially the bankruptcy court ruled against him. That=E2=80=99s a whole=20= =E2=80=98nother Oprah there. Thankfully, the United States Bankruptcy=20 Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit had a clue. You can read the=20 ruling from them here. They reversed and remanded the original d= ecision from the Bankruptcy Court and made it quite clear what this all mean= t.
I want to quote a portion of it here to save you some time. This comes from= pages 9 & 10:
=E2=80=9CWright Flight opposed, and supported its opposition with a statemen= t of genuine issues in a dispute, a request for judicial notice, and the=20 declarations of both Nathan East and (attorney) Jeffrey Gersh. These=20 documents essentially indicate that, among other things,
=E2=80=A2 The Aircraft Loan Agreement and the Security Agreem= ent were invalid under Nevada and California Law
=E2=80=A2 Mach I=E2=80=99s purported security interest in the= Aircraft was never properly perfected.
=E2=80=A2 The law did not permit a thief to have superior tit= le to the true owner
=E2=80=A2 The Trustee stood in the shoes of the thief so the T= rustee=E2=80=99s title could NOT be superior to the true owner, and
=E2=80=A2 It was not clear this matter should be heard at all= since Riggs was=20 not and likely never had been an officer or director of Mach I.=E2=80=9D
= Yes, you read all of that right. The agreements weren=E2=80=99t valid, he=E2= =80=99s a thief and the Bankruptcy Trustee took his word for it in deciding that=20 Dave Riggs had superior ownership over Nathan and the Trustee was WRONG. And there is evidence that Dave Riggs was never an officer or director of Mach I (also another story).
What I find horrendous is that it appears that Trustee was saying in=20 the original ruling that because Mr. East had the right to monetary=20 damages if he won the civil case he did NOT have the right to get the=20 plane back and it should remain with the Bankruptcy court. They would=20 then sell it, take their share and if anything was left over it could go to the creditors. I object. If the plane was his, and was stolen then he should get his plane back. Simple. If the trustee wants money so=20 bad they need to get the Lancair Dave Riggs is currently flying (N360DR, owned by Whirly Bird Aviation Inc, in Nevada), the L-39 now owned by=20 Nazarene Aviation Fellowship, the Hummer he drives and anything else=20 he=E2=80=99s hidden.
That won=E2=80=99t happen I=E2=80=99m sure but at least the Appellate Court s= aw fit to clear the way for Mr. East to get his plane back.
The appellate paperwork goes on for a total of 22 pages and it=E2=80=99s=20 truly an interesting and enlightening read. But in the end it boils=20 down to this..Nathan East should be able to regain possession of his=20 plane very soon.
I have not had the pleasure of meeting Nathan personally but I have=20 learned enough about him in the course of investigating and discussing=20 this case to know that he is a man of kindness and integrity. What he=20 has had to go through, simply to be able to enjoy his own plane, that=20 I=E2=80=99m sure he worked incredibly hard to be able to have, is a travesty= . =20 And while I can=E2=80=99t do anything to fix that or to make it right again=20= (except cheer LOUDLY when he finally gets to move that plane out of the=20 jail it=E2=80=99s in at Whiteman Airport now), I once again feel vindicated i= n=20 starting this website, because someone somewhere will be looking to get=20 involved with David Riggs one of these days and see this story and save=20 themselves some heartache and a lot of money.
Incidents like this are the very reason I created=20 AviationCriminal.c= om, to expose the truth and hopefully prevent this=20 kind of travesty from ever happening again.
Here is the plane in question..currently sitting in jail. May she see the s= kies again very soon with her rightful owner.

= --Apple-Mail-3EB4282D-0ABC-482D-9C2C-31EC4E27E5DE--