Levee Breaks bankruptcy: 5 properties for sale, 3 to be abandoned

YARMOUTH — As part of the bankruptcy proceedings of Yarmouth-based Levee Breaks Investment Group LLC, three properties will be abandoned, one property has been sold and four others are up for sale.

LBIG filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Oct. 22 a week after the state Securities Division filed a civil administrative complaint against LBIG, formed by Brian Serpone of Yarmouth in 2015, and Dennis Serpone, Brian's uncle, for what it alleged were violations of Massachusetts General Law and willful violation of a consent order they had entered into with the state in May 2020.

Brian Serpone is listed as the manager and resident agent on the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Corporation Division website for Levee Breaks. LBIG used investor money to purchase Cape properties, remodel them and sell them or rent them at profits.

LBIG was not registered with the state’s Securities Division, as required by Massachusetts law, and the promissory notes they sold investors were unregistered securities, according to state records.

Dennis Serpone had run afoul of the state Securities Division before. In 1998, his registration as a broker-dealer agent was terminated following regulatory action, according to records.

What is being abandoned?

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Bailey on Jan. 12 approved trustee David Madoff’s motion for the authority to abandon two houses in Yarmouth and one lot in Dennis Port.

The decision didn’t come without controversy. Three creditors objected to the motion to abandon the properties, claiming the values used by the broker hired for the case were low. The judge overruled the objections.

The three properties to be abandoned are 28 Seminole Drive in Yarmouth Port, 148 Wendward Way in West Yarmouth and 24 Indian Trail in Dennis Port.

The Seminole Drive home is assessed at $438,800, according to Yarmouth town assessing records. LBIG bought the 2,164-square-foot home in May 2018 for $215,000. The three-bedroom, two-bath home on 0.35 acres was built in 1975 and remodeling work on it remains unfinished. Porch railings are missing, as is a second floor window.

A 960-square-foot ranch sits on 0.44 acres on Wendward Way. The modest home with an unfinished basement is assessed at $285,400, according to assessing records. LBIG bought the house, which was built in 1960 and has three bedrooms and one bathroom, in November 2018 for $192,500.

Remodeling of the home stopped after the town issued a stop-work order in 2019 because work being done without permits, according to Yarmouth Deputy Building Commissioner Tim Sears.

A now-empty 0.3-acre lot at 24 Indian Trail in Dennis Port used to have a 636-square-foot home. Bought by LBIG in 2019 for $185,000, the property had been assessed at $126,000.

Controversy over value of properties

Denise Benjamin, one of the 77 creditors and a Levee Breaks investor listed in the claims registry for the bankruptcy proceedings.

The trustee’s function is to act as a fiduciary for the unsecured creditors, and get as much money from the sale of assets as possible. If a property is useless or worth less than the mortgage, it’s of no use to the bankruptcy estate, said University of Massachusetts law school Professor Emeritus Michael Hillinger. In that case, the trustee can abandon it to the mortgage holder.

Benjamin said the values of the homes and properties were underestimated by the broker hired by the bankruptcy trustee. In this case, it was Samantha Steward of Compass Realty, who was a partner with Brian Serpone in Team Serpone Steward LLC in 2018. That limited liability company was dissolved by court order by the Secretary of the Commonwealth in 2021, according to state records.

Using figures from Zillow and Realtor.com, Benjamin said the estimated valuation of those properties were higher than the broker’s opinions of value. Bailey disagreed.

In a Jan. 17 decision, Bailey wrote, “Based on the Court’s experience with these websites (Zillow and Realtor.com), I find that those online valuations are often unreliable.” Bailey added that Madoff was exercising his business judgment properly.

Madoff said the properties were abandoned because the amount owed to the mortgage holders was greater than the amount he would have gotten from the sale of the properties.

“If there’s not going to be a benefit to the bankruptcy estate, the Trustee’s job is to abandon the properties so they don’t incur expenses that we have to pay for,” he said.

Madoff said LBIG and Brian Serpone wouldn’t receive any benefit from the abandonment of the properties.

Madoff said the prior business relationship between Steward and Brian Serpone was disclosed to the court. She was retained as broker after court approval.

“I felt that that relationship didn’t preclude her from representing us,” Madoff said.

But Benjamin claimed that the original estimated value for one property was so low that a bidding war ensued during a bankruptcy hearing, proof that the valuations were low.

The original sale price for 99 Berry Ave. in West Yarmouth was set at $475,000. At the court hearing for the sale, counteroffers raised the ultimate sale price to $543,000.

“That bidding war was proof that these valuations are undervalued,” Benjamin said.

Properties being sold

Madoff said five properties are in various stages of being sold. The sale of 99 Berry Ave. has closed. Other properties for sale include 21G Fruean Ave. in South Yarmouth, $350,000; 55 Bayberry Road in West Yarmouth, $560,000; 3 Jerusha Lane, West Yarmouth, $543,000; and 14 Egg Harbor in West Yarmouth, $550,000.

Trustees must file motions to approve the sales of properties in bankruptcy proceedings, and at every hearing, counteroffers can be made.

Along with liquidating the properties belonging to LBIG, Madoff will need to review the claims filed by the creditors as well as the schedules provided by LBIG.

There have been $4.5 million in total claims filed, of which $1.4 million are secured claims or mortgages, Madoff said. But Madoff will review each claim to determine if the records are accurate.

Madoff will eventually hire an accountant to review the books and records of the company.

“There was a lot of money invested and a lot of money not accounted for,” Madoff said. “There have been a lot of suggestions by people as to where the money went, so we will start to look at that.”

Madoff will eventually ask the court for the authority to make distributions to the creditors.

Benjamin said she is afraid she’ll get just pennies on her investment dollars.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bankruptcy court OKs sale of 5 Levee Breaks properties