Judge Denies Ridge Hill Trading Pty LTD's Motion to Dismiss $4.6MM Fraud Charges

NEW YORK, March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Remcoda, LLC, the leading importer of foodservice and safety equipment for the United States' foodservice industry, has filed suit against Australian and Sri Lankan hedge fund Ridge Hill Trading Pty Ltd. controlled by Sharad Sri and Asanth Sebastian and former JP Morgan executive Russell Gross.  The action alleges a scheme to defraud Remcoda out of over $4.6 million.  

Remcoda provided the funds to Ridge Hill and Gross as a down payment for life-saving protective equipment against COVID-19 during the onset of the pandemic, but never received any of the promised goods and are now out millions of dollars.  On March 1, 2022, a New York federal court rejected Ridge Hill and Gross' attempts to have all of Remcoda's claims against them dismissed, including the most serious fraud charges, noting, with respect to Gross, that Remcoda's pleadings were "sufficient to establish motive and opportunity to defraud, leading to an inference of fraudulent intent" to aid and abet Ridge Hill.  

Remcoda's Chairman Marc Garson commented, "The multi-billion dollar PPE industry has devolved into a wild, wild west as a result of a few bad actors.  We are pleased the Court rejected these defendants' transparent efforts to evade responsibility for the wrongful acts alleged in the Complaint and we will continue pursuing them until such time as they have fully remedied the extensive damage they have caused."

Throughout the pandemic, the IBrands team became the nation's largest supplier of safety equipment to the food services industry importing more than 20M boxes of gloves, along with other necessary supplies. 

About IBrands Global and Remcoda
IBrands is a leading lifestyle brand collective with diversified holdings under ownership and management. IBrands portfolio of companies include those in industries spanning fashion & accessories, consumer goods, health & wellness, and travel. IBrands designs, produces, and builds brands of distinction with distribution in retail, wholesale and ecommerce in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. IBrands Global's companies include BluZen, bebe, EBY, Alloy Apparel, Pam & Gela, Calibreeze and Blue Desire. Since the pandemic, IBrands, through Remcoda, has become a leading importer of safety equipment and PPE. Remcoda is a direct vendor to the country's largest distributors, hospitality brands and big box retailers.

SOURCE IBrands Global

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