[Update 3/25/2019: The SEC has now filed suit against Direct Lending Investments charging the firm “with a multi-year fraud that resulted in approximately $11 million in over-charges of management and performance fees to its private funds, as well as the inflation of the private funds’ returns.” Bloomberg has more on the story here.]
Direct Lending Investments is one of the largest fund managers in the alternative lending space. I was an early investor in their first fund and over the years I documented my returns and experience on Lend Academy.
Earlier this month Brendan Ross, the CEO of Direct Lending Investments, Inc., sent a letter to investors notifying them that they have suspended withdrawals and redemptions effective February 8, 2019. Lend Academy was able to obtain a copy of this investor letter, dated February 11, that provides some color into what happened. The reason given was the delinquency of a large holding, VOIP Guardian, a telecom receivables factoring company.
The total assets in the fund as of November 30, 2018 was $758 million and the principal balance with VOIP Guardian was $192 million or 25% of the total. What has happened apparently is the telecom companies that do business with VOIP Guardian have failed to pay their obligations. From the investor letter:
VOIP Guardian’s amounts due from these delinquent obligors is now $160 million, with the result that VOIP Guardian in turn remains unable to make its payments due to the Funds. We now suspect that the cessation of payments is the likely result of misconduct (although we have not yet determined by whom) and that a substantial portion of the $160 million may not be recoverable.
A recent Bloomberg article quoted the CEO of VOIP Guardian saying that some long time clients stopped paying their bills and that his company has done nothing wrong. We don’t know why these companies have stopped paying their bills and that matter is currently being investigated.
Now, I should point out that I was an investor in the Direct Lending Investments fund but I was redeemed from the fund as of June 30, 2017. I did not initiate this redemption, it was a mutually agreed upon decision because DLI did not want me sharing my returns from the fund publicly. At the time I was disappointed because it had been my best performing lending investment for many years.
Many existing investors have reached out to me asking for my opinion and what can be done. Unfortunately, investors have little choice but to ride this out. Again, here is what Brendan says in the investor letter:
The General Partner and the Board took this action because they determined in good faith that such a suspension is advisable to protect the Funds, including because it would be inappropriate to use the Funds’ liquid assets to redeem some investors ahead of other investors. The General Partner and the Board currently expect that the suspension will be in effect for an extended period of time. The Funds may make distributions and payments during this period if they determine that it is appropriate and if the Funds’ liquidity so permits.
During the suspension they will not collect performance fees or any management fees on the portion of the fund attributable to VOIP Guardian. But how much principal is returned to investors is dependent upon how much of the $192 million is recovered.
My Take
My first reaction when I heard this news was disappointment. I have been a fan of the pioneering work Brendan has done in this industry and I know how hard he has worked to build up this fund. This must a bitter blow for him personally because he has put his heart and soul, not to mention his own assets, into his company.
Now, to have 25% of the fund in one holding seems high to me and in hindsight was clearly not a good move. But when a high yield holding performs well for many years you can understand the reasoning to increase the allocation. When I went back and looked at my 2015 annual report from the fund VOIP Guardian was just under $33 million or 8% of the fund at that time (the investment began in October 2015). A year later that amount had grown to almost $99 million.
I know Brendan will do everything he can to recover the money that is owed. But it seems highly likely that investors will suffer some kind of principal loss. It is a tough reminder that higher yielding investments usually means a higher level of risk. I have had conversations with a few of the investors in the fund over the past couple of weeks and most have been resigned to the fact they will lose some principal.
I will be following this story and will share more when there are new developments.
Hi Peter,
Do you know if Direct Lending is going to continue to pay monthly dividends on the 75%?
Do you know if they will continue to remain in the business?
Have you spoken to Brendan directly and got his take on the business stability?
Sorry, but I do not know the answers to those questions. You will have to take it up with DLI directly.
Investors don’t have little choice they have NO choice. They can’t get their money. Also, is your statement that they will still charge fees on 75% of the portfolio correct? If so, investors are paying DL for the privledge of not being able to access their funds. That’s crazy. Investors in Fintech really need to perform due diligence and not invest based on PR.
You all have been warned almost two years ago on this website. The red flags were everywhere; as pointed out in the comments of this article:
https://www.lendacademy.com/investors-due-diligence-marketplace-lending/
Also, Brendan Ross has been in a legal dispute for years now with VOIP Guardian. It was all just a house of cards and the information was public:
https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/comdiv/ny/PDFs/817-Talking.pdf
Rodney Omanoff was a “hollywood consultant” for b and c-level actors before he got a $192m funding from Brendan Ross.
Not to worry, men like Brendan, Renauld, and Mike Cagney can commit fraud and sexual harassment and go on and raise millions of dollars. Sure his next fund is already being formed.
How do you know Brendan sexually harassed anyone?
I unfortunately have a large investment in DL fund. Most of my retirement money. What is an investor to do? I got a call last night that Brendan Ross was physically removed from his office and is no longer the CEO of Direct Lending Investments. I suspect he was arrested. Anyone with advice on steps to take to recover funds?
Who told you that? And is there proof ?
I was corrected that Brendan was not arrested but was removed from office and no longer the CEO.
How did you acquire this information? Who called you to tell you this?
who called you?
Hey Whitney, could you provide some more color on how you got this information?
Who can help coordinate a class action lawsuit?
The writing was on the wall when the delayed distributions one month in order to implement a new “accounting/audit” system.
Go to 4:20 where he says “if a lender goes bankrupt are we protected. Yes”
Amazing how he was able to say that with a straight face.
At that time, his portfolio was loaded with promissory notes from Dealstruck, which turned out to be worth zero only a few weeks later when Dealstruck went under, costing investors millions and millions. He then tweaked accounting and reimbursed fees to investors in order to smoothen the monthly returns… kept the fund growing and he didn’t have to explain a dip in returns.
Then eventually his administrator and auditor jumped ship but he kept coming up with new explanations why he had to change service providers.
If anyone has ideas on a legal recourse please let me know.
What is your legal complaint? Do the documents specifically preclude the investment type or the concentration of his investment? I am not an investor but am speculating that he acted within the fund documents but managed risk poorly.
we are a group of investors who are trying to co-ordinate action. Please contact us below
http://dlivoip.net
If you are willing to join us investors, Please go to the site below.
http://dlivoip.net
Thats not smart because then DLIF would have to put all there energy on defense against investors instead of trying to get us the majority of our money .
If there is no misconduct I would agree, but the only way you are going to find out if there was misconduct is through discovery in a lawsuit.
No it’s my understanding law enforcement is investigating
Just watched that interview you posted where Brendan Ross is saying DLI would be agnostic to a lender bankruptcy as DLI would simply assume the loans directly and hire a back up servicer. That clearly can’t happen if your loans are not secured. A monster fraud.
No one in their right mind would put 25% of any credit fund in a single lender. Even an elementary school student has studied or heard about diversification. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Brendan Ross has directly conspired with the founder of that bankrupt lender and somehow has 50mm waiting for him in bitcoin.
And what about Bryce Mason, the guy hired in 2015 and who is responsible for underwriting models / risk management at DLI. He describes himself as a “quantitative yogi” on linkedin… with 25% of the fund in one single entity, this guy is def not a quant yogi. Where are these guys educated.
we are a group of investors who are trying to co-ordinate action. Please contact us below
http://dlivoip.net
Please contact Micaeh Mendle at mmendle@ua.edu
Clearly there are a lot of people who are angry and that is understandable. I have known Brendan for many years and while he has shown poor judgment here I am quite certain he still has the best interests of his investors at heart. At this stage I am not sure what any investor would gain from a lawsuit because that will only complicate matters for his firm and distract them from trying to get as much principal as possible back.
Agreed. Rick Glassman
I am an investor and it is very sad what happened. I wish there is some way to get at least some money back faster. The uncertainty of not knowing when the funds (even partial) will be received it the worst.
Count me in for lawsuit info.
The question is not whether this would complicate a recovery. My fear is that DLI and/or VOIP Guardian lent the money to entities ultimately subject to the non-law of the scam jurisdictions.
Clearly the wisest course is to see what Brendan Ross has personally, and to get a better picture on the recent staff merry-go-round.
I think we wait to give DLIF a chance to recover moneys and wind down ,before they have to defend a lawsuit and can’t concentrate on getting our money
I totally agree. I believe Brendan is a good guy here. He has all motivation to get money back to investors. Legal actions would just complicate and delay things.
Brendan Ross is not a good guy by any means. He clearly falsified his valuations. He will point to the fact that he manages Level III assets. Such a joke.
He wants nothing other than to retain the management and performance fees which he has unduly collected. Who knows what that number has amassed to over the years. Do the math. Investors have been bamboozled. An expensive education.
So who is running the fund now that Brendan has been removed? We have not received any communications on 2 weeks. I’m concerned all might be lost.
I would be careful as this public board is surely being monitored by the fund. Has anyone spoke with the executive team recently? Who is running the fund now that Brendan Is gone? This is very concerning.
When I invest in a fund I always talk to the ceo and ask the magic question ? How much did you invest ? If I remover correct as I am in lots of funds Ceo had multiple millions invested . Therefore I think he’s in the same situation as we are . So let’s not make the lawyers happy just yet . Let’s let Dlif work to get us all our money.
When I invest in a fund I always talk to the ceo and ask the magic question ? How much did you invest ? If I remember correct as I am in lots of funds Ceo had multiple millions invested . Therefore I think he’s in the same situation as we are . So let’s not make the lawyers happy just yet . Let’s let Dlif work to get us all our money.
Hi Rick,
Can you please share what other funds you are invested in and if they are working out for you?
There has been no communication and this is the latest reply I received.
Unfortunately, Brendan Ross has revoked the authority of the GP and its personnel to communicate with investors so we cannot respond to your inquiry. We apologize for this continued delay in communication.
What is going on over there???????
Danny, Thanks for sharing. When did you receive that communication?
I have been informed that as late as year-end 2018, Brendan described the fund’s collateral as “firm.”
On March 18, 2019, Mr. Ross resigned (effective immediately) from all of his positions with the GP and
the Funds, including his positions as the GP’s CEO, as its managing member and as a member of the
board of directors of Direct Lending Income Feeder Fund Ltd. As a result, Mr. Ross is no longer
authorized to act on behalf of the GP or the Funds.
I have been able to contact them, K1 wont be issued until Sept.
as of today (23 March 19), the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Direct Lending and former CEO Brendan Ross. There is credible evidence that Brendan Ross misrepresented the funds performance and overcharged investors management fees and performance fees to the extent of $11M. Is there a possibility to sue him directly. Anyone know what legal options there are to make sure a) the investors he’s stolen money from and b) he never gets the chance to do this again?
How did they get an extra 11 m in fees
Supposedly from Quarterspot, but I don’t get how as it’s a tiny holding and never had losses?
Probably by charging performance fees when in reality they were losing money on their investments (aka cooking the books).
The math doesn’t add up ? This is a real problem. For a lot of people who are invested with Dlif . People flinging statements without backup on this site is very harmeful . And should be stoped or backed up . So please back up your statements were we got screwed out of 11 mil in fees.
Rick or should I call you Brendan?
A simple google search shows the evidence, look at document 2:19-cv-02188 Document 1. Details all of the fraud Brendan committed.
https://www.pacermonitor.com/case/27555678/Securities_and_Exchange_Commission_v_Direct_Lending_Investments_LLC
I am afraid that if Brendan, as one writer avers, is a “good guy,” he played in the gutter with some nasty characters–Omanoff and Brad Reifler, who was barred in Aug. 2018 from dealings with any FINRA member.
On Reifler and Ross ( vis-à-vis Talking Capital, VOIP Guardian’s predecessor, see https://www.nybusinessdivorce.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2018/04/Talking-Capital-Decision.pdf ,
pp. 6-7 in the pdf (= 5-6 in the court order).
Help me remember: did DLIF report lending to Talking Capital?
Talking Capital is listed in one of their audits. I think it made money.
Reifler is suing DLI and the Fund that was in one of the letters. So they can’t be too buddy buddy.
I guess Reifler is out of luck because the SEC suit suspends all other lawsuits.
I cannot find any verification of suit by SEC, please show link for source
I’ve PDFs from the SEC sent to me by my former financial advisor. there is no way for me to upload them tho. Case 2:19-cv-02188 Document 1 Filed 03/22/19. There are at least 5 documents but case number is the same for all.
New Bloomberg article this morning at 10am -Direct Lending Fund Sued by SEC for Allegedly Inflating Returns
2019-03-25 10:00:00.10 GMT
Masking Losses?
Ross “knowingly engaged in a multi-year scheme to mask the
poor performance of one of the funds’ largest investments,” the
SEC said in its lawsuit, which filed in Los Angeles.
Ross, who wasn’t a named defendant in the SEC’s suit,
didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Direct Lending
didn’t return a phone call made outside of normal business
hours, while SEC spokeswoman Judith Burns declined to comment.
Direct Lending, an early investor in what’s known as peer-
to-peer loans, reported as recently as November that it had $758
million in assets. But it has been in turmoil since Ross last
month disclosed the default of a borrower representing a quarter
of the firm’s assets.
Ross then quit March 18 after Direct Lending found evidence
that the valuations of another investment may have been
materially overstated. The firm reported its conclusions to
regulators.
Those valuations — tied to Direct Lending’s investment in
online small-business lender QuarterSpot Inc. — are the focus
of the SEC’s complaint.
Unmade Payments
From 2014 to 2018, Ross emailed QuarterSpot’s principals,
urging them to falsely report to Direct Lending that “borrowers
made hundreds of monthly payments when, in fact, they had not,”
according to the SEC. The misconduct allowed Direct Lending to
avoid recognizing losses on its QuarterSpot investment, the
regulator said.
“More loans are going late each month than I can afford and
still have normal returns, so that the can we are kicking down
the road is growing in size,” Ross wrote in one 2015 email
quoted in the SEC suit. The agency said it wants Direct Lending
to pay an unspecified fine and return all illicit profits to
investors.
The SEC didn’t sue QuarterSpot or its management. The
company didn’t return a phone call made outside normal business
hours seeking comment.
The SEC’s lawsuit information is now posted online. The following page also has a link to the complaint pdf. The SEC is calling this a multi year fraud perpetrated by DLI through Brendan Ross.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2019/lr24432.htm
Is there any legal action that the victims of this fraud can do? against the perpetrator(s) so that this does not happen again?
Does anyone have a clearer understanding than I do about what happens next and the potential timelines for any resolution?
Thanks!
I have no timeline but it looks like Brendan is prepared to argue and defend himself with the SEC. I think freezing redemptions was the right call. But at some point the fund will have to be liquidated and money returned to the investors. There are still loans performing so I don’t know how they deal with that, but certainly management should not be collecting any fees in the meantime. The SEC has appointed an outside source to oversee the preservation of the funds assets. I think money will be returned to investors the question is how much and when.
As Peter and others have shown over the years, the XIRR can often differ greatly from what is shown on Lending Club or Prosper. Maybe my head is in the clouds, but is it possible that something was taken out of context from the emails and he was simply asking them to reflect the data accurately because it looked like he was losing money when he wasn’t? Was his move to preserve the image of the fund or was it to fleece investors out of $11m? I am not a shill for Brendan, but he just never struck me as the ponzi type.
I still don’t understand about Quarterspot. Overall it made money and is now down to nothing. It said that in the letter we all got. So far the only losses are the VOIP fraud which is with law enforcement.
Brendan deserves his day in court and the DLI investors deserve getting their invested money back.
All of you people saying Brendan is a good guy are wrong. I also know him personally and he no doubt had this planned from the beginning. He fooled a lot of people. Maybe not as big a scandal as Theranos, but it’s the same personality type and same story.
Sure seems like it now. Just hope we all get back our investments .
Brendan has been fooling a lot of people for a long time. The SEC complaint against him dates the beginning of his misdeeds with Quarterspot to 2014. Ross’s involvement with with creepy Talking Capital began in 2014. That outfit bellied up in early 2016, but by then Ross had re-upped in a similar deal with VOIP Guardian.
I began with DLI in 2015–relatively early. Obviously I did not know any of this. But I should not have filtered out things that ought to have bothered me. One was Ross’s repeated quest for structures to bring in more money (the abandoned interval-fund plan, which would have required more transparent bookkeeping; the master-feeder structure). Similar was the recent change in reporting and crediting intervals. A third was the change in info available on the investor portal. A late one was the revolving door of key employees. The invariance of monthly returns (despite the downward drift) I explained away as the result of good algorithms, good contracts, and frequent automated payment–I was wrong.
My wife saw a picture of Ross after the fit began hitting the shan. She said, “How handsome!” Compare his picture to that of the debonair Charles Ponzi.
I get some of what you’re saying, and there’s no question we’re all unhappy now, and I googled your name so I can see it’s not fake, but I don’t see how stuff like the master-feeder or interval fund are tells for bad motivation. The data room always had more and more too. I think these obscure corners of the credit universe are just risky. I’m going to stick with real estate. Let’s hope the receiver is smart since he’s god now.
My point was that Ross seemed excessively eager to grow the fund. Apart from a sign of a restless temperament (which was the opposite of the old persona of a doubly cautious investor seeking to improve a risk-reward profile), it seems in hindsight to have led him to more reckless bets and/or to find new money to dilute the effect of previous errors.
Damn straight I’m not fake: how ’bout you, Not Sure?
That’s very interesting info. Similar observations as other “jobs” I’ve seen.
From reading the actual SEC complaint (https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2019/comp24432.pdf) it seems that internal sources ultimately blew the whistle and contributed to the SEC building its case. If you read the complaint it’s pretty damning on Ross directly as the “schemer” and that is being put onto DLI rather than him personally:
“Ross acted knowingly, recklessly, and negligently in deceiving DLI, the Funds, Fund investors, and others at DLI”
“Ross acted knowingly, recklessly, and negligently in materially misstating the Funds’ valuation, performance, and fees, and failed to exercise reasonable care to ensure that Fund investors received the Funds’ true valuation, performance and fees”
“Ross, whose scienter and negligence can be imputed to DLI”
I am not a attorney and don’t know the possibility for Ross to be tried in any way, or whether that is a next step if the SEC is successful in its claims against DLI.
Jen Samson, Jimmy James, John Lard, John Doe. I bet anything they are Brad Reifler, the guy at TalkingCapital that has been suing the fund for years over sour grapes. Now he’ll get nothing thanks to the receiver taking over.
Nope. Just know Brendan Ross and know it was absolutely inevitable that something like this would happen.
So, with the SEC now involved and DLI likely to be dissolved what % recovery does everyone feel investors will receive in the end? Will it be more or less than 75%?
I bet we are lucky to see 50% of our principal.
I agree. I expect to see about 30-50% optimistically. Between the inflation of the returns, the overcharge of fees, the default on the loan that represents about 25% of the total fund. The default alone takes us to 75% optimistically. That’s before the payments to the committee assigned oversight of the fund which is being paid roughly $1000/hr for their work.
I think we will see 90 percent
I think we could see more than 75% since existing loans are still paying and only employees will be paid with SEC oversight, this will add to the assets over time.
Does anyone know what’s happening with the interest revenues collected each month on the remaining 75%? Why isn’t this returned to investors?
Does anyone have an update since the end of March? I have not received any communications from DL