A bankruptcy trustee has sued a Greenburgh HVAC contractor for allegedly transferring assets illegally to a new business he created after petitioning for bankruptcy protection.
U.S. Trustee Howard P. Magaliff sued Alpha Omega HVAC Mechanical on Nov. 14, as part of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed by business owner Allan L. Broccoli.
Magaliff seeks to undo the transfer, “as well as any additional amounts … as may be revealed in further discovery,” according to the complaint filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy enables people and businesses to wipe out debts and gain a fresh start. Trustees are court-appointed officials who verify the debtor’s information, liquidate the assets and distribute the proceeds to creditors.
Broccoli petitioned for Chapter 7 protection in November 2023, declaring $916,100 in assets and $1,736,165 in liabilities. He attributed most of the deficit to loans and credit card charges for his business; the mortgage on his house on Mayfair Way in Greenburgh; and federal and state taxes.
He listed himself as sole owner of Alpha Omega Heating and Cooling Inc., a business he formed in 2014 according to a state registration record.
He formed the similarly-named Alpha Omega HVAC Mechanical at the same address in February 2024, according to a Westchester County registration record, 79 days after he filed the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.
The new business was created without bankruptcy court approval, Magaliff says. And he believes Broccoli illegally transferred the original business to the new company, therefore the transfer must be undone.
On the same day that Magaliff sued the new Alpha Omega, he filed cases against Broccoli’s wife, Catherine, and a fictional “John Doe.”
He claims that Broccoli transferred $160,181 from a joint account to his wife’s personal bank account, about 29 months before he petitioned for bankruptcy protection. And he allegedly transferred $38,657 from a business account to an investment account held by an unknown person.
Magaliff argues that the transfers were fraudulent because they did not satisfy any obligations, and because he was insolvent or made insolvent at the time as a result of the transfers.
He is asking bankruptcy court to undo the transfers.
Broccoli’s bankruptcy attorney, John Lehr, did not reply to a message that asked for his client’s responses to the allegations.
