Barry Bekkedam Cleared of Allegations of Fraud

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Barry R. Bekkedam and Ballamor Capital Management announced today that all claims asserted against Bekkedam and Ballamor in the case brought by Mark H. Smith and Thomas A. Schirmer on behalf of DVFG Benefits, Inc. Pension Plan have been dismissed after an independent arbitrator found that Bekkedam and Ballamor did not commit fraud in their representation of the plaintiffs.  Bekkedam and Ballamor were represented by Matthew Taylor and Ryan Borneman of Philadelphia from Duane Morris LLP. 

The plaintiffs' claims in the Smith case arose from the transfer of $1 million each from plaintiffs' investment accounts at a third party brokerage firm to purchase an investment in a Delaware limited partnership.  Smith and Schirmer alleged that Bekkedam or Ballamor forged documents authorizing the transfer of money and purchase of the investment. 

In a 39-page reasoned opinion, recently made public in a filing in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a privately mutually selected arbitrator dismissed claims against Bekkedam and Ballamor related to the alleged forged documents finding that such allegations "are not plausible."  The arbitrator found that "it is not reasonable to infer that a party who intended to forge another person's name to a document would fax the document to the other person and ask that person to sign it and return it to the forger."

After the arbitrator's opinion dismissing Smith and Schirmer's allegations of fraud, the parties mutually settled the remaining claims. 

"It is very gratifying to clear my good name and to have an arbitrator specifically find that I did not forge my clients' signature," Bekkedam said today.  "Unfortunately legal complaints over the last several years have alleged a great number of things that are simply not based on the reality of the circumstances or the facts.  It has been something that both my family and I have had to live with in today's media and technological world. I'm happy to put this case behind me and move forward into my future endeavors," he continued.

"It is gratifying to see justice done to Barry after these terrible allegations," Taylor said. 

In 2012 claims by investors against Bekkedam and Ballamor in the Scott Rothstein multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme were dismissed.  Although the SEC has decided to sue Bekkedam and Ballamor civilly regarding the Rothstein investment, Bekkedam is in the process of responding to and clarifying these allegations as well.

The case is formally Mark H. Smith, et al vs. Barry R. Bekkedam, et al Section 11-cv-06407 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

About Duane Morris

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