Judge denies Apfelbaums' motion seeking more info on 'excessive' fees claim

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 31—MIDDLEBURG — A Snyder County judge has denied a motion by members of the Apfelbaum family to compel the state to provide more information regarding its claim they have collected "excessive" amounts of fees and compensation as trustees of the 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation.

A civil suit filed in November 2020 by the state Attorney General's Office claims the $7.9 million in fees paid in the past 26 years to current individual trustees Ben Apfelbaum and Brianna Apfelbaum Kula, former trustees JonSidney and Jeffrey Apfelbaum and the late Michael and Sidney Apfelbaum, were "excessive" and "not adequately explained."

The commonwealth is seeking repayment from each trustee of any inappropriate compensation they received, which could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, said attorney Cecil Jones, who is representing Kula, Ben Apfelbaum and JonSidney Apfelbaum, during a May hearing before President Judge Lori Hackenberg.

Kula and JonSidney Apfelbaum were appointed as trustees in 2017 and Ben Apfelbaum joined the foundation as a trustee in 2018.

Jones said the state's attorneys have not responded to their request for information supporting the suit's claim of excessive fees and other compensation while the state argued the Apfelbaums have responded to their detailed requests with vague responses and an unwillingness to be deposed.

Requiring the newer trustees to answer to more than 20 years of transactions handled by the foundation is unfair, Jones said as he filed a motion seeking more information from the state regarding its claims against the Apfelbaums.

"We think this is an effort to unfairly prejudice our clients," he said during the May hearing.

In her ruling filed last week, Hackenberg described the Apfelbaums' request for the state to be more specific as "unduly burdensome." She also denied their request for a protective order, in effect compelling them to sit for a deposition with the state.

The state's civil lawsuit also seeks an explanation of $245,051 in "miscellaneous expense;" $531,616 paid to the former Apfelbaum, Apfelbaum & Apfelbaum law firm and other attorneys and $67,393 in furnishings purchased with money from the trust.

In addition, the state wants to recoup $14,290 in tuition payments paid from the fund on behalf of Ben Apfelbaum and Kula and is objecting to individual trustees having their names bestowed on donated assets rather than the name of the Degenstein foundation.