MasTec Acquisition of Pacer Construction and Subsequent Pursuit/Recovery of Purchase Funds
Securities
Investor Fraud
In June 2014, MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) purchased Pacer Construction and its related entities from Richard Pelletier, who was the founder and CEO of Pacer, his company Richard Pelletier Holdings Inc. and two others. MasTec Inc. paid RP/RPHI a cash sum of approximately Can$59 million for his proportionate equity interest in Pacer. At the time of the purchase, Pelletier was a resident of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. However, in the year 2015, Pelletier and his family moved to the Cayman Islands.
Following the acquisition, it became apparent that Pelletier had falsely represented the financial condition of the companies. In March 2016, MasTec’s and Pacer’s claims caused them to commence an arbitration against RP/RPHI and the two other sellers.
In March 2019, an International Arbitration Panel determined that RP/RPHI were jointly and severally liable to pay to Pacer the sum of Can$55,775,277.50. After the two other sellers had repaid their proportionate share to MasTec, RP/RPHI remained liable to Pacer for the amount of some Can$34 million.
MasTec’s counsel includes Sequor Law partner Edward Davis in Miami who retained Lindquist in order to determine the current whereabouts of the purchase funds that were paid to RP in 2014.
After a study of several personal and corporate bank accounts of Pelletier at various financial institutions in four countries (including tax havens) during the years 2014 to 2019 along with other related financial documentation, Lindquist was able to disclose the movement of funds through the various countries and their use, particularly their lifestyle and the identification of assets. Subsequently Counsel has obtained freezing injunctions as the asset recovery process continues.
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