A company based in Bosnia-Herzegovina claims that a New Rochelle consultant bilked it for nearly $150,000 in a deal to secure a $118 million line of credit.
Nina D.O.O. accused Andrew Barrett Consultant LLC and Jeffrey Andrew Barrett of unjust enrichment in a complaint filed Sept. 7 in Westchester Supreme Court.
How the businesses found one another and the purpose of their deal are not explained.
Nina D.O.O. is an affiliate of Holdom Enterprise in Bosnia, according to Holdom’s website, and is headed by Dominik Holzner, 30.
The lawsuit depicts Nina D.O.O. as an international real estate company but the Holdom website states that Nina’s core business is window manufacturing. The website also displays a video rendering of an apparent hotel project in Mahovljani, Bosnia.
Andrew Barrett Consultant was established in 2015, according to a state corporation record. The company and Jeffrey Andrew Barrett’s home, according to the complaint, are in the Skyline New Rochelle apartment building.
Efforts to contact Barrett for his side of the story failed.
Nina D.O.O. said it set up a deal with Barrett in November 2019. Barrett agreed to facilitate a bank guarantee for up to 100 million Euros (then about $110 million, now $118 million) from Credit Suisse for a 150,000 Euro ($165,000) fee.
A bank guarantee, or standby letter of credit, is typically used in a large international transaction to help a business ensure a contract.
In this case, the complaint states, the transaction had to be completed in 60 days. If not completed, Barrett would have to return the fee, minus a nonrefundable 25,000 Euros ($27,500) retainer for attending a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.
Nina D.O.O. said it transferred 150,000 Euros to Barrett Consultant’s account at a Wells Fargo Bank in Pleasantville.
But Barrett failed to attend the Zurich meeting, according to the complaint, and failed to get the 100 million Euro line of credit.
Barrett allegedly ignored two requests from Holzner and one from Manhattan attorney Henry Roske to return the fee.
Nina D.O.O. accuses Barrett of breach of contract, conversion and unjust enrichment. It is demanding 125,000 Euros, or about $148,000 at the exchange rate on Sept. 15.
Nina D.O.O. is represented by Manhattan attorneys Matthew D. Donovan and Viktoriya Liberchuk.
