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David BergsteinAlbert HallacDavid Bergstein and Albert Hallac, Theft of Servers, Extortion.
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{00642054.DOC;1 }
ROBINSON BROG LEINWAND GREENE
GENOVESE & GLUCK P.C.
875 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022-0123
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
-------------------------------------------------------x
GRANGE CONSULTING GROUP, MD : SUPERIOR COURT
TABLET and PARMJIT SINGH OF NEW JERSEY
PARMAR, :
CHANCERY DIVISION
Plaintiffs, MONMOUTH COUNTY
:
-against- Docket No. C-0085-12
: Docketed Judgment
GRISHMA GANGAR, PINEBOARD No. J30694-13
HOLDINGS, INC., ROBERT B. :
SILVERMAN, ALBERT HALLAC, AFFIDAVIT OF PLAINTIFF
WESTON CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, : PARMJIT SINGH PARMAR IN
LLC, ANYTIME BUSINESS OPPOSITION TO JUDGMENT
CONSULTING, EDWIN MARTINEZ, : CREDITORS’ MOTION TO
SOVRIN HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. ENFORCE THE JUDGMENT AND
and LAWRENCE TWERSKY, : IN SUPPORT OF CROSS-MOTION
TO STAY ENFORCEMENT
Defendants. : OF THE JUDGMENT
-------------------------------------------------------x
COUNTY OF NEW YORK )
) ss.:
STATE OF NEW YORK )
PARMJIT SINGH PARMAR, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
1. I am a plaintiff in this action together with two companies, Grange
Consulting Group (“Grange”) and MD Tablet (“MDT”). I submit this affidavit: (a) in opposition
to the motion by the Defendants for turnover of funds, sale of assets and entry upon property
(“Defendants’ Asset Turnover Motion”); and (b) in support of Plaintiffs’ cross-motion to stay
enforcement of the judgment entered in this action.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
2. I met David Bergstein the principal strategist for the Defendants
(“Bergstein”) approximately 7 years ago when Bergstein, who previously had to file for personal
bankruptcy, came to New Jersey with his hat in hand desperate for money to finance a new deal.
3. Despite hearing from countless people that Bergstein could not be trusted
and that he never pays people back, I provided Bergstein with a 10 million dollar loan to be used
for the making of the movie “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead”. I made the loan because
David provided me with diligence, including pre sales data showing revenue of in excess of 18
million dollars and thus it was my understanding that my money would be paid back in full
shortly.
4. The movie by all accounts was highly successful, making in excess of 50
million dollars. Despite the films profitability I was never paid back, and I have come to
understand that Bergstein diverted the films profits internationally. Attached as Exhibit 1 is an
email from Bergstein diverting monies to a foreign corporation in lieu of paying back his debt
obligations. The ten million dollar loan to date remains unpaid.
5. Over the next 6 months Bergstein proceeded to borrow in excess of 47
million dollars from me. To date all principal, fees, penalties, and interest remain unpaid.
6. I considered Bergstein to be a friend and treated him like a family member
often having him come to my home in New Jersey and helping him out of many difficult
financial times, always putting his interest ahead of my own, and often times to my own
detriment.
7. When bankruptcy proceedings were instituted against various business
entities owned and controlled by Bergstein, Bergstein misrepresented and fraudulently induced
me under the pretext that he had made a deal with a third party investor to renegotiate my debt.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
After much debate, upon the reliance of the fraudulent statements made by Bergstein I was
induced into entering into agreements with Bergstein to renegotiate the debts that Bergstein
owed me.
8. Despite my generosity in helping to restructure Bergstein’s balance sheet,
Bergstein still refused to pay his debts to me and instead set up an elaborate scheme to defraud
and extort me.
9. I formed MDT for the purpose of developing a business that would
provide medical doctors with a service by which they could manage patient information. In
2011, I agreed to sell MDT to Defendant Pineboard Holdings, Inc. (“Pineboard”). In September
2011, I provided Pineboard with MDT ownership documents. A copy of those ownership
documents was also provided to Defendant Albert Hallac (“Hallac”) in January 2012. The
purpose of those ownership documents was to distinguish between MDT assets purchased by
Pineboard and other assets owned by me, Grange and other entities under my control.
10. Pineboard subsequently took complete possession and control of all of
MDT’s assets having a value of in excess of $50 million, but has failed and refused to pay the
full purchase price for those assets.
11. Bergstein, despite my friendship, counsel, and generosity, in continuing to
loan money to him, with the assistance of Hallac, extorted me during the period now known as
the Great Recession.
12. Bergstein and Hallac refused to wire me the 2.2 million dollars they owed
me in payments for the Pinboard transaction and waited for others who I had promised payments
to put the proverbial gun to my head.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
13. With full knowledge of my financial situation and with creditors swarming
Bergstein stated that I would only get the money he owed me from the Pinboard transaction, the
2.2 million dollars, if I released him from his other obligations that he owed me, which at that
time was approximately 100 million dollars.
14. Hallac also refused to wire the money and claimed he had issues with his
bank making the wire. In reality Hallac was working with Bergstein to delay paying me the
money I was contractually owed so that they could extort me.
15. With what I believed was no choice, I signed a partial release of the
obligation Bergstein owed me, and Bergstein, on behalf of Pinboard, wired the 2.2 million
dollars into my account.
16. The 2.2 million dollars was supposed to have been paid by Bergstein and
Hallac 90 days prior to the actual date of the wire.
17. Pineboard utilized the purchase of MDT’s assets as a pretext to enter upon
the premises occupied by MDT and other companies under my control, including Grange.
18. Pineboard utilized that entry to steal computer servers that were the
property of Grange having a value of not less than $2.75 million. Attached are the purchase and
shipping documents for four purchases of computer servers in 2008 at a cost of $482,227.90
(Exhibit 2), $178,316.00 (Exhibit 3), $288,939.45 (Exhibit 4), and $461,231.19 (Exhibit 5). The
other bills are not available as they are on the stolen servers.
19. Weston Capital, along with associates representing Hallac and two
associates of Bergstein came to New Jersey, and stole the valuable servers from Grange, all
while threatening harm to its employee Grishma.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
20. Grishma, stated that the group following orders from Bergstein “actually
threatened me” at page 2, Grishma went on to state that “they said if I contact you [Parmar] then
they will do take some action against me.” At page 4 of Exhibit 6.
21. It should be noted that Grishma was on a work permit issued by the
Homeland Security & Immigration Office to work for the company “General Health” a non-
party to the Pineboard transaction. Bergstein knew this fact and was told about the serious
consequences of breaching Grishma’s agreement with the government that any breach by
Grishma would result in her deportation. Therefore when agents of Bergstein and Hallac issued
orders to Grishma and threatened her with her job and thus deportation if she did not comply to
their wishes, they knowingly and purposely violated the H1-B government issued permit.
Bergstein’s and Hallac’s agents threatened to have Grishma deported if she notified me during
the theft of the servers. The Grishma transcript is attached hereto as Exhibit 6.
22. Bergstein, Hallac and their agents entreating into any agreement with
Grishma is a violation under the immigration laws under which work permits are issued, a fact to
which Bergstein had knowledge.
23. I then commenced the instant action as the servers contain trade secrets,
including 18 years of business emails and contacts which have been taken from me and are vital
to me being able to go back into business and work my way back up.
24. In response, Bergstein strenuously insisted that I dismiss this action and
represented and warranted that the Grange computer servers were “mistakenly” removed and
would be returned, but only after this action was dismissed.
25. Over the months of May through September, Bergstein repeatedly stated
that the only way for a settlement which would include the return of the servers and the money
{00642054.DOC;1 }
he owed me would be for me to dismiss the complaint and only after the dismissal would
Bergstein have settlement discussions.
26. From May through September Bergstein and I spoke on the phone about
the action and he continuously insisted that he would not discuss settlement without the case
being dismissed, and noted that he would aggressively respond to the complaint. In fact
Bergstein told me that “if I decide to dismiss the case and act “correctly” I have a chance of
making this right.
27. On June 28, 2012 Bergstein wrote me “You can resolve this if you want.
So do so if you mean it. All that will occur in the meantime are responses to your advances.”
This email is one of many like it and is attached hereto as Exhibit 7.
28. In September, after I still had not dismissed the case, Bergstein called me
and threatened me stating that “I will not be the first one to pay a harsh penalty for this
confusion” meaning to me that I would pay a harsh penalty, be punished for not dismissing the
complaint.
29. Realizing that litigation with Bergstein is futile, and feeling continuously
threatened by Bergstein, I relied upon Bergstein’s representation of a settlement, and I directed
the attorneys representing the Plaintiffs at that time to file a notice of withdrawal of this action
without prejudice. A withdrawal notice, dated September 27, 2012, was filed.
30. Pineboard then not only failed to return the stolen servers but also
promptly filed a motion for an award of sanctions against Grange, MDT and me.
31. “Defendants’ Notice of Motion for Sanctions Arising Out of Frivolous
Litigation” was dated October 17, 2012 (“Sanctions Motion”), and was supported by a
certification of Alex M. Weingarten, Esq. (“Weingarten”), dated October 15, 2012,
{00642054.DOC;1 }
(“Weingarten Certification”) The Sanctions Motion was filed against all three Plaintiffs: myself,
Grange and MDT.
32. Weingarten falsely certified that: “On September 27, 2012, Plaintiffs
dismissed this action, without prior notice or any communication of such intent.” Id., at ¶ 4.
33. The instant action had only been pending since May 30, 2012, but the
Weingarten Certification claimed that Defendants had incurred attorneys’ fees through
September 30, 2012 in the amount of $125,467.00. Id., at ¶ 7. Weingarten then filed a
supplemental certification, dated November 12, 2012, certifying that:
“From October 1, 2012 through October 31, 2012, additional
Weingarten Brown fees and costs in the amount of $26,035.13
were incurred by Defendants in connection with this matter. In the
month of October 2012, Weingarten Brown attorneys and staff
members billed approximately 73 hours in relation to Plaintiffs’
frivolous claims.”
See Supplemental Certification of Alex M. Weingarten, Esq. in Support of Defendants’ Motion
for Sanctions Arising Out of Plaintiffs’ Frivolous Litigation, sworn to on November 12, 2012, at
¶ 1. This Court entered a judgment for $197,320.46 (“Judgment”) noting in oral argument,
however, that the amount was “very, very high.”
34. Pineboard, together with the other Defendants, was seeking an award of
attorneys’ fees against a company that it had purchased, and whose assets it had taken possession
of, but as to which Pineboard had failed to pay the full purchase price. Pineboard was also
seeking an award of attorneys’ fees against Grange, a company with which it had no involvement
whatsoever, other than the fact that Pineboard had utilized the purported MDT purchase to steal
all of the computer servers on the premises occupied by MDT, Grange and other companies
under my control.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
35. The reason that Pineboard wanted all of the computer servers was that
principals of Pineboard, including Bergstein, Silverman and Hallac, believed those computer
servers would contain recordings of telephone conversations that I had with Bergstein.
36. Pineboard and its principals have failed to pay the full purchase price for
MDT, a company having at least $50 million in assets, and have stolen Grange computer servers,
a company which is independent from the Pineboard transaction and a company to which Parmar
never owned, having a value of not less than $2.75 million. Having been unjustly and illegally
enriched by millions of dollars of assets, Pineboard and its principals are attempting to enforce a
judgment for $197,320.46 in attorneys’ fees against me, the company that it purchased but didn’t
pay for, and a company that it didn’t purchase but whose computer servers it stole. Weingarten,
Defendants’ California attorney admitted pro hac vice in this case, filed the false Weingarten
Certification in support of that award of attorneys’ fees.
37. Moreover, those attorneys’ fees are sought in a case that I dismissed
without prejudice on the basis of the representation by Pineboard’s principal, Bergstein, that
doing so was an essential prerequisite to the return of the “mistakenly” taken computer servers.
38. This is not the first case where these attorneys and Bergstein have played
these unscrupulous tricks in an attempt to manipulate the court. In fact a Central District of
California Bankruptcy Judge stated that: “Number one, he can’t – Mr. Bergstein, aside from
everything else, could not be trusted.” See October 29, 2012 transcript of motion argument in In
re Thinkfilm, LLC, Case No. LA10-19912-BR (U.S.B.C., C.D. CA) (“Thinkfilm Action”), at p.
91, attached here to as Exhibit 8 (emphasis added).
39. The same Bankruptcy Judge later identified what was “sort of a smoking
gun” concerning Bergstein, and Bergstein’s counsel admitted: “First, the smoking gun. My firm
{00642054.DOC;1 }
is responsible and my client is responsible for whatever we file with the Court, and to put it as
clearly as I can I don’t know why the mistake was made but we made a mistake about who hired
Mr. Weinstein’s law firm.” See February 16, 2012 transcript of oral argument in In re: R2D2,
LLC, Case No. LA10-19924-BR (U.S.B.C., C.D. CA), at pp. 2/4-6 & 9/2-7, attached here to as
Exhibit 9.
40. A United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California
issued a decision quoting a judge’s statement in a bankruptcy hearing transcript that: “He asked
legitimate questions, which you basically just ignored, which shows me you’re really – Mr.
Bergstein is – it’s clear, he’s out to punish these folks as much as he can. And I’m not going to
allow the powers of the trustee to be used by him, given the history of this case and the total lack
of merits of the motion that is actually before me.” See Order Denying Appellant’s Motion for
Leave to Appeal Bankruptcy Court Order, dated May 22, 2013, in Thinkfilm Action, at p. 5,
attached hereto as Exhibit 10.
41. This Court should further be aware of Bergstein’s prior gamesmanship in
filing motions and actions. a prior Court has noted Bergstein’s penchant to “simply bring
actions”:
“This is about refusal of the information, essentially from Mr.
Bergstein and others to be candid and come forward with the
evidence.
“There’s no showing at all that there’s any damage to these
debtors. It’s clear to me. This is basically that Mr. Bergstein –
apparently the approach is that anybody who gets in his way, to
simply bring actions. I guess that can be effective, but it’s not
going to work in this Court.”
“So I don’t think there’s been any colorable claims.”
October 29, 2012 transcript in Thinkfilm Action, at p. 92/11-20, attached here to as Exhibit 11
(emphasis added).
{00642054.DOC;1 }
42. This Court should also be aware that Bergstein told me that he is trying to
reach out to a known prostitute Erica, who Bergstein claimed the Judge presiding over
Bergstein’s bankruptcy cases was seeing. Bergstein told me that he was going to have the
prostitute to give him evidence against the federal judge because Bergstein claimed the federal
judge’s rulings were “killing him” and thus Bergstein needs to get rid of the federal judge
without it looking like an extortion. It is very interesting how Bergstein could coincidently and
innocently come across this information. Attached as Exhibit 12 is the transcript in which
Bergstein told me that he had to get rid of the federal judge.
43. This Court is reminded that Bergstein himself implored me to dismiss the
Complaint countless times over a four month period promising me that he would negotiate in
good faith once the complaint was dismissed.
44. Under these circumstances, an order should be entered staying
enforcement of the Judgment. There are four specific grounds for a stay order, each of which
constitutes a fully adequate basis for issuance of a stay order.
45. First, as noted above, Pineboard and its principals have failed to pay the
full purchase price for MDT, a company having at least $50 million in assets, and have stolen
Grange computer servers having a value of not less than $2.75 million. Pineboard has been
grossly, unjustly and unlawfully enriched.
46. Second, Defendants’ Asset Turnover Motion seeks property which does
not belong to me and/or is subject to pre-existing liens in excess of in excess of $50 million
dollars.
47. Third, Defendants have already levied against my bank deposits in the
amount of $10,685.93.
{00642054.DOC;1 }
48. Fourth I am the caretaker to my 72 year old frail father and brother and
levying against my chattels will constitute an extreme inconvenience because they both depend
on me for support.
49. The Judgment therefore should be stayed and the Defendants’ Asset
Turnover Motion should be denied in its entirety.
___________________________
PAUL PARMAR
Sworn to before me this
__th day of September, 2013
_______________________
Notary Public