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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

1 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

Elizabeth Berke-Dreyfuss (Bar No. 114651) 

WENDEL, ROSEN, BLACK & DEAN LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24th Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

Telephone: (510) 834-6600 

Fax: (510) 834-1928 

Email: edreyfuss@wendel.com 

[proposed] Attorneys for Susan L. Uecker, 

Receiver and Monitor 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION, 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

SAN FRANCISCO REGIONAL CENTER, LLC; 

THOMAS M. HENDERSON; CALIFORNIA 

GOLD MEDAL, L.P.; CALL SOCKET, L.P.; 

CALL SOCKET II, L.P.; CALLSOCKET III, 

L.P.; COMPREHENSIVE CARE OF 

OAKLAND, L.P.; NA3PL, L.P.; WEST 

OAKLAND PLAZA, L.P.; CALLSOCKET, 

LLC; CALLSOCKET II, LLC; CALLSOCKET 

III, LLC; COMPREHENSIVE CARE OF 

CALIFORNIA, LLC; IMMEDIA, LLC; and 

NORTH AMERICA 3PL, LLC,

Defendants, 

-andCALLSOCKET HOLDING COMPANY, LLC; 

CALLSOCKET III HOLDING COMPANY, 

LLC; BERKELEY HEALTHCARE 

DYNAMICS, LLC; CENTRAL CALIFORNIA 

FARMS, LLC; and JL GATEWAY, LLC, 

Relief Defendants. 

 Case No. 3:17-CV-00223-RS 

RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S 

ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR 

ORDER AUTHORIZING EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

Case 3:17-cv-00223-RS Document 103 Filed 04/06/17 Page 1 of 15
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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

2 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 4

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY .................................................................................................. 5

III. LEGAL AUTHORITY ......................................................................................................... 6

A. District Court Power To Administer The Receivership. ........................................... 6

B. Deference To The Receiver’s Business Judgment. ................................................... 7

IV. RELIEF REQUESTED ......................................................................................................... 8

A. Employment And Compensation Of Uecker & Associates ...................................... 8

B. Employment and Compensation of Wendel Rosen ................................................... 8

C. Employment and Compensation of Akawie & LaPietra ......................................... 11

D. Employment and Compensation of Baker Donelson .............................................. 11

E. Employment and Engagement of Bachecki Crom .................................................. 14

V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 14

 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

3 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES 

Page 

CASES

Bennett v. Williams, 

892 F.2d 822 (9th Cir. 1989) .................................................................................................. 7 

CFTC v. Tooworth Int’l., Ltd., 

 205 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1999) ............................................................................................... 6 

In re Thinking Machines Corn., 

 67 F.3d 1021 (1st Cir. 1995) ................................................................................................. 7 

In re Thinking Machines Corp., 

182 B.R. 365 (D. Mass. 1995) ............................................................................................... 7 

SEC v. Basic Energy & Affiliated Resources, 

 273 F.3d 657 (6th Cir. 2001) ................................................................................................. 6 

SEC v. Capital Consultants, LLC, 

 397 F.3d 733 (9th Cir. 2005) ................................................................................................. 6 

SEC v. Elliot, 

 953 F.2d 1560 (11th Cir. 1992) ............................................................................................. 6 

SEC v. Forex Asset Management, LLC, 

 242 F.3d 325 (5th Cir. 2001) ................................................................................................. 6 

SEC v. Hardy, 

 803 F.2d 1034 (9th Cir. 1986) ............................................................................................... 6 

SEC v. Wang, 

 944 F.2d 80 (2d Cir. 1991) ................................................................................................... 6 

SEC v. Wencke, 

622 F.2d 1363 (9th Cir. 1980) ................................................................................................ 6 

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Path America, LLC ......................................................... 12 

Southwestern Media, Inc., v. Rau, 

708 F.2d 419 (9th Cir. 1983) .................................................................................................. 7 

Young v. Henderson, 

Case No. RG15778891 ......................................................................................................... 8

RULES

Local Civil Rule 66-2 ........................................................................................................................ 4 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

4 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

I. INTRODUCTION 

In accordance with the Court’s March 29, 2017 Order Appointing Receiver and Monitor 

(the “Appointment Order”) (Docket No. 100), and the law governing federal equity receiverships, 

Susan L. Uecker, the duly appointed receiver (the “Receiver”) for Defendants San Francisco 

Regional Center, LLC; California Gold Medal, L.P.; CallSocket, L.P.; CallSocket II, L.P.; 

CallSocket III L.P.; NA3PL, L.P.; West Oakland Plaza, L.P.; CallSocket, LLC; CallSocket II, 

LLC; CallSocket III, LLC; Immedia, LLC; and Relief Defendants CallSocket Holding Company, 

LLC; CallSocket Holding III Holding Company, LLC; Central California Farms, LLC; and JL 

Gateway, LLC (collectively the “Receivership Entities”), and monitor (“Monitor”) for 

Defendants’ Comprehensive Care of California, LLC; Comprehensive Care of Oakland, L.P. and 

North America 3PL, LLC, and relief Defendants Berkeley Health Care Dynamics, LLC (“Monitor 

Entities”), hereby respectfully requests that the Court enter an Order authorizing the Receiver and 

Monitor to employ and compensate: (1) Uecker & Associates, Inc. to provide project 

management, bookkeeping, reporting and staffing (“Uecker & Associates”); (2) the firm of 

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP (“Wendel, Rosen”), as her general receivership counsel; (3) 

the firm of Baker Donelson (“Baker Donelson”), as her EB-5 immigration counsel;(4) Akawie & 

LaPietra, Professional Corporation (“Akawie & LaPietra”) as her leasing counsel; and (5) 

Bachecki, Crom & Co., LLP (“Bachecki Crom”) CPAs, as her forensic accounting and tax 

preparation professionals (collectively, “Professionals”). 

The Receiver is not an attorney nor forensic tax accountant and does not have such 

professionals on staff. Considering the complexity and urgency of the numerous legal and factual 

issues facing the Receivership Entities and Monitor Entities, and that the Monitor’s report is due 

within 45 days of the entry of the Appointment Order, the Receiver seeks to employ Professionals 

immediately. Pursuant to the provisions of Section I., ¶ 9. F. of the Appointment Order, the 

Receiver seeks to engage the Professionals as set forth above. Pursuant to the provisions of 

Section XV, ¶ 63 of the Appointment Order, the Monitor is authorized to engage the same 

Professionals she employs as Receiver. Pursuant to the provisions of Paragraphs 55 and 63 of the 

Appointment Order, the Receiver and Monitor request that, pursuant to Local Civil Rule 66-2, the 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

5 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

Court authorize and approve the engagements and compensation in accordance with the terms 

presented herein. Uecker Decl., ¶ 2. 

This Administrative Motion is based on this Motion and the below Memorandum of Points 

and Authorities, and the concurrently submitted Declarations of Elizabeth Berke-Dreyfuss 

(Dreyfuss Decl.”), Gregory Nerland (“Nerland Decl.”), Robert Divine (“Divine Decl.”), Jay Crom 

(“Crom Decl.”), and Susan L. Uecker (“Uecker Decl.”). A true and correct copy of the proposed 

form of Order Granting Receiver’s and Monitor’s Motion for Order Authorizing Employment of 

Professionals is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 

Pursuant to the provisions of Local Rule 7-11(a), filed concurrently herewith is a 

Stipulation As To Receiver’s And Monitor’s Administrative Motion For Order Authorizing 

Employment Of Professionals (“Stipulation”). The Stipulation was served upon all counsel 

appearing in this matter for each of the defendants and the SEC. All counsel with the exception of 

two have signed the Stipulation. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 6, Exhibit G. Patrick Freeman of Valle Makoff 

LLP counsel for defendants San Francisco Regional Center, LLC; California Gold Metal, L.P., 

NA3PL, L.P.; West Oakland Plaza, L.P.; Immedia, LLC, did not oppose the Motion, but could not 

sign the Stipulation based on Paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Appointment Order which provided that 

the Receiver assumed control over the received Defendants and Relief Defendants and dismissed 

the agents of those entities. Id., Exhibit H. Mr. Gilbert Serota of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer 

LLP, counsel for defendant Mr. Thomas Henderson, did not respond to the request to sign the 

Stipulation. Id., Exhibit H. 

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY 

This matter was initially brought before the Court pursuant to a Complaint filed on January 

17, 2017, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), alleging that the named 

Defendants had exploited a federal EB-5 visa program by defrauding investors seeking to invest in 

the job creation program, earn a return on their investments and obtain a permanent U.S. visa as a 

way toward United States residency. (Docket No. 1) 

On January 20, 2017, the SEC filed a motion seeking an order appointing a receiver over 

the entity Defendants and Relief Defendants. (Docket No. 10) 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

6 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

Following oral argument on March 2, 2017, the Court entered the Order Granting Motion 

for Preliminary Injunction and to Appoint a Receiver on March 23, 2017, pursuant to which the 

Court appointed Susan L. Uecker as a receiver over the Receivership Entities (Docket No. 96). 

The Court also appointed Ms. Uecker as Monitor over the Monitor Entities. Id. Pursuant to the 

terms of the Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Motion to Appoint a Receiver, 

on March 29, 2017, the Court entered the Appointment Order. (Docket No. 100). 

The Receiver and Monitor now seeks to engage the Professionals to assist her with 

performing her duties and obligations as reflected in the Appointment Order, and to assist with the 

orderly administration of the estate of the Receivership Entities (“Receivership Estate”) and to 

assist her in carrying out her duties and responsibilities as Monitor. The qualifications of each 

firm and its professionals and their proposed billing rates are as set forth below and in the 

respective Declarations of Messrs. Nerland, Divine, and Mses. Uecker and Berke-Dreyfuss, 

submitted concurrently herewith. 

III. LEGAL AUTHORITY 

A. District Court Power To Administer The Receivership. 

A district court’s power to administer an equity receivership is extremely broad. SEC v. 

Hardy, 803 F.2d 1034, 1037 (9th Cir. 1986); SEC v. Forex Asset Management, LLC, 242 F.3d 325, 

331 (5th Cir. 2001); SEC v. Basic Energy & Affiliated Resources, 273 F.3d 657, 668 (6th Cir. 

2001); SEC v. Elliot, 953 F.2d 1560, 1566 (11th Cir. 1992); SEC v. Wang, 944 F.2d 80, 85 (2d Cir. 

1991). 

“The power of a district court to impose a receivership or grant other forms of ancillary 

relief does not in the first instance depend on a statutory grant of power from the securities laws. 

Rather, the authority derives from the inherent power of a court of equity to fashion effective 

relief.” SEC v. Wencke, 622 F.2d 1363, 1369 (9th Cir. 1980). The “primary purpose of equity 

receiverships is to promote orderly and efficient administration of the estate by the district court 

for the benefit of creditors.” Hardy, 803 F.2d at 1038. The Ninth Circuit has explained: 

A district court’s power to supervise an equity receivership and to 

determine the appropriate action to be taken in the administration of 

the receivership is extremely broad. The district court has broad 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

powers and wide discretion to determine the appropriate relief in an 

equity receivership. The basis for this broad deference to the district 

court’s supervisory role in equity receiverships arises out of the fact 

that most receiverships involve multiple parties and complex 

transactions. 

SEC v. Capital Consultants, LLC, 397 F.3d 733, 738 (9th Cir. 2005) (citations omitted); see 

also CFTC v. Tooworth Int’l., Ltd., 205 F.3d 1107, 1115 (9th Cir. 1999) (“This court affords 

‘broad deference’ to the court’s supervisory role, and ‘we generally uphold reasonable procedures 

instituted by the district court that serve th[e] purpose’ of orderly and efficient administration of 

the receivership for the benefit of creditors.”). Accordingly, this Court has broad equitable powers 

and discretion in formulating procedures, schedules and guidelines for administration of the 

Estate, and should authorize the engagement and compensation of the Professionals requested 

herein. 

B. Deference To The Receiver’s Business Judgment. 

In the estate administration context, courts are deferential to the business judgment of 

bankruptcy trustees, receivers, and similar estate custodians. See, e.g., Bennett v. Williams, 892 

F.2d 822, 824 (9th Cir. 1989) (“[W]e are deferential to the business management decisions of a 

bankruptcy trustee.”); Southwestern Media, Inc., v. Rau, 708 F.2d 419, 425 (9th Cir. 1983) (“The 

decision concerning the form of [estate administration] rested with the business judgment of the 

trustee.”); In re Thinking Machines Corp., 182 B.R. 365, 368 (D. Mass. 1995) (“The application of 

the business judgment rule and the high degree of deference usually afforded purely economic 

decisions of trustees, makes court refusal unlikely.”) (rev’d on other grounds, In re Thinking 

Machines Corp., 67 F.3d 1021 (1st Cir. 1995)). 

The Receiver has determined, in her reasonable business judgment, that she requires the 

services of Uecker & Associates; Wendel, Rosen; Akawie & LaPietra; Baker Donelson; and 

Bachecki Crom, and accordingly, respectfully requests that the Court grant this Motion. 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

8 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

IV. RELIEF REQUESTED 

A. Employment And Compensation Of Uecker & Associates 

Section I., ¶ 9, F. of the Appointment Order authorizes the Receiver to employ persons in 

her discretion to assist her in carrying out her duties and responsibilities. 

The Receiver and Monitor seek to employ Uecker & Associates to perform certain inhouse staffing services that permit her to fulfil her duties and responsibilities as both the Receiver 

and Monitor. The Associate/Project Manager works under the direction of the Receiver/Monitor 

on all aspects of the case, such as asset analysis, asset disposition, business operations, case 

administration, claims work, investor communications and preparing reports. The Accounting 

Staff prepares daily, weekly and monthly accounting reports for all projects, works with the 

outside accountant and tax professionals on information for tax work and forensic accounting. 

General Staff provides miscellaneous services such as sending notices and reports and website 

updates. The hourly rates for the proposed engagement of Uecker & Associates are as follows: 

Associate/Project Manager Hourly Rate $200.00 

Accounting Hourly Rate $100.00 

General Staff Hourly Rate $ 50.00 

Uecker Decl., ¶ 3 . 

Uecker & Associates charges its costs as actual costs. Uecker & Associates will seek 

compensation in compliance with the terms of the Appointment Order and agrees to bill its fees 

and costs in this case in accordance with the Billing Instructions for Receivers in Civil Actions 

Commenced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and upon application and approval 

by the Court. Uecker Decl., ¶ 4. 

B. Employment and Compensation of Wendel Rosen 

Pursuant to the terms of the Appointment Order, the Receiver and Monitor seeks to engage 

and compensate Wendel Rosen to represent her in this matter as general receivership counsel. 

Uecker Decl., ¶ 5. The Wendel Rosen attorneys to provide substantive legal work on the matter 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

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9 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

are admitted to practice before the State Bar of California, the State Courts and District Courts and 

are experienced receivership and insolvency, and litigation attorneys and real estate transactional 

counsel. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 2. Wendel Rosen represented the Receiver in the State Court Action.1 

Uecker Decl., ¶ 5. Wendel Rosen has performed a conflict check and Wendel Rosen and its 

attorneys are not an attorney for or associated with or employed for any party to this action, except 

that Wendel Rosen represented the Receiver in a representative capacity in other matters that are 

unrelated to this action, and as previously stated, represented the Receiver in the State Court 

Action as the Receiver for the CallSocket Entities. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 3. 

Ms. Berke-Dreyfuss, one of the firm’s partners, has over 32 years’ experience in 

representing trustees and receivers in a broad range of bankruptcy and insolvency matters for 

businesses and individuals. She has substantial experience in Chapter 7, Chapter 11 cases and 

receivership cases, including avoidance actions (preferences and fraudulent transfers) and was the 

attorney who represented the Receiver in the State Court Action. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 2. 

Tracy Green, also one of the firm’s partners, with over 32 years’ experience in the 

insolvency related practice, has represented trustees and creditors in avoidance actions (fraudulent 

conveyances, preferences, and equitable subordination). Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 4. 

C. Gregg Ankenman, another of the firm’s partners, specializes in real estate and business 

transactional work, including commercial real estate leases, sales, exchanges, and financing. Mr. 

Ankenman handled each of the CallSocket Entity real estate sales in the State Court Action. 

Dreyfus Decl., ¶ 5. 

Thiele Robin Dunaway, another of the firm’s partners, is a litigator with 30 years’ 

experience litigating disputes involving various business contract, commercial loan documents, 

deeds of trust, and title to real property. A particular focus of her practice is on appellate work in 

both state and federal courts. Ms. Dunaway handled each of the appeals and writs of mandate 

filed by the CallSocket Entities in the State Court Action. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 6. 

 

1

 Young v. Henderson, Case No. RG15778891, pending before the Alameda County Superior 

Court (“State Court Action”). 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

Jason Horst and Katherine Kao are each commercial business litigators with 11 and 7 

years’ experience respectively. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 7. 

The hourly rates for each of the Wendel Rosen attorneys are as follows: 

Attorney Practice Hourly Rate 

Elizabeth Berke-Dreyfuss 

Partner 

Receivership, 

Insolvency, Litigation 

$520 

Tracy Green 

Partner 

Receivership, 

Insolvency, Litigation 

$520 

C. Gregg Ankenman 

Partner 

Real Estate Leasing 

and Sales 

$550 

Thiele R. Dunaway 

Partner 

Litigation $500 

Jason Horst 

Associate 

Litigation $395 

Katherine Kao 

Associate 

Litigation $375 

Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 8. 

Wendel Rosen also employs paralegals that range in hourly rates from $135 to $275, 

depending on experience. Wendel Rosen’s fees typically adjust annually on January 1. Wendel 

Rosen charges its costs as actual costs. Wendel Rosen will seek compensation in compliance with 

the terms of the Appointment Order and agrees to bill its fees and costs in this case in accordance 

with the Billing Instructions for Receivers in Civil Actions Commenced by the U.S. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, and upon application and approval by the Court. Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 9. 

Ms. Berke-Dreyfuss is expected to serve as lead counsel, and will provide legal advice 

relating to the administration of the instant receivership, including in connection with all necessary 

discovery and Receivership Asset recovery efforts and the Monitor Reports, prepare all pleadings 

to be filed with the Court, and will coordinate all necessary legal services. To the extent that 

additional services are necessary, Mses. Green and Dunaway will assist Ms. Berke-Dreyfuss. 

After the Receiver has formulated the Recovery Plan, and litigation has commenced, Ms. BerkeDreyfuss will be supported in the litigation by Mses. Green, Dunaway, Kao and Mr. Horst. All 

lower level discovery and litigation will be handled by associates. Mr. Ankenman will work 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

exclusively on sales of real property should the need arise. Wendel Rosen will ensure that there is 

no duplication of services. The biographies of Mses. Berke-Dreyfuss, Green, Dunaway, Kao and 

Messrs. Horst and Ackerman are attached as Exhibits A, B, C, D, E and F to the Dreyfuss Decl. 

Dreyfuss Decl., ¶ 10. 

C. Employment and Compensation of Akawie & LaPietra 

Pursuant to the terms of the Appointment Order, the Receiver seeks to engage and 

compensate Akawie & LaPietra, specifically, Gregory S. Nerland, as her counsel to deal with 

issues related to leases involved with the Receivership Assets. Uecker Decl., ¶ 6. Mr. Nerland 

has over 25 years’ experience working on real estate matters, including commercial leasing, in the 

San Francisco East Bay. He is admitted to practice to the State Bar, the State Courts and the 

District Court. Mr. Nerland has performed a conflict check and Akawie & LaPietra and Mr. 

Nerland are not attorneys for or associated with or employed for any party to this action, except 

that Mr. Nerland has represented the Receiver in a representative capacity in other matters that are 

unrelated to this action, and represented the Receiver in the State Court Action as the Receiver for 

the CallSocket Entities for purposes of bringing unlawful detainer actions. Nerland Decl., ¶ 2. 

Mr. Nerland’s hourly rate is $330. Akawie & LaPietra charges its costs as actual costs. 

Mr. Nerland will seek compensation in compliance with the terms of the Appointment Order and 

agrees to bill his fees and costs in this case in accordance with the Billing Instructions for 

Receivers in Civil Actions Commenced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and 

upon application and approval by the Court. Nerland Decl., ¶ 3. 

D. Employment and Compensation of Baker Donelson 

Pursuant to the terms of the Appointment Order, the Receiver and Monitor seeks to engage 

and compensate Baker Donelson as EB-5 immigration counsel. While Baker Donelson is a full 

service law firm, the Receiver is retaining Baker Donelson solely with respect to its immigration 

practice. Uecker Decl., ¶ 7. 

Baker Donelson’s Immigration Practice is nationally recognized for its specialty in the EB5 program and investors. Specifically, the Receiver and Monitor seek to retain Robert C. Divine, 

a shareholder of Baker Donelson. Mr. Divine has extensive experience serving clients throughout 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

the world in the arrangement of all types of business-based temporary and permanent immigration 

status, including specialty occupations (H-1B, TN, E-3), individual and blanket international 

transferee programs (L-1), traders and investors (E-1/E-2, EB-5), medical workers, religious 

workers, labor certification, national interest waivers and extraordinary ability aliens. Mr. Divine 

has also represented and assisted employers and other parties in some of the largest immigration 

enforcement investigations and prosecutions. He provides strategic advice and training for 

employers in their immigration compliance efforts. Mr. Divine also represents many business 

developers in creating, managing and using “Regional Centers” that can create indirect jobs 

toward the 10 new U.S. jobs whose creation can give rise to EB-5 permanent residence for 

investment in the developers’ projects. He is the elected Vice President of the national industry 

association of “EB-5” Regional Centers, Association to Invest in USA (IIUSA). He represents 

developers similarly using other parties’ Regional Centers. He coordinates this work with 

attorneys supporting securities law compliance in offerings to investors, with economists 

identifying “targeted employment areas” and projecting indirect job creation, with licensed 

securities brokers coordinating offerings, and with attorneys obtaining U.S. Government (OFAC) 

licenses to serve investors from restricted countries. He also represents individual investors in 

obtaining conditional permanent residence and in removing conditions from permanent residence. 

Mr. Divine has substantial experience in a similar case in representing the receiver in the 

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Path America, LLC pending before the United States 

District Court for the Western District of Washington. Divine Decl. ¶ 2. 

By presidential appointment, Mr. Divine served in Washington, D.C., from July 2004, until 

November 2006, as Chief Counsel of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS), the world’s largest immigration services agency within the U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security. From July 2005, until July 2006, he served as Acting Director and then 

Acting Deputy Director of USCIS, spearheading the USCIS Transformation Program, testifying in 

Congress about the E-Verify system, enhancing operational security, and increasing transparency 

of rules and procedures. In early 2004 he served as an expert retained to assist the U.S. 

Commission on International Religious Freedom in its congressionally mandated study on the 

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009589.0024\4644355.7 RECEIVER’S AND MONITOR’S ADMIN. 

MOTION FOR ORDER AUTH. EMPLOYMENT 

OF PROFESSIONALS 

13 3:17-CV-00223-RS

Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

expedited removal process. He has testified as an expert on immigration law for courts in the 

United States and abroad. Since 1994, Mr. Divine has authored a well-known treatise on 

immigration law, Immigration Practice (Juris Publishing) and on January 7, 2011, testified before 

the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the job-creating effects of the EB-5 immigrant investor 

program and the importance of renewing the regional center authorizing legislation. Divine Decl., 

¶ 3. 

Mr. Divine and Baker Donelson have performed a conflict check and have no conflicts in 

this matter. Mr. Divine and Baker Donelson are not attorneys for or associated with or employed 

by any party to this action, except that Mr. Divine has worked with Worldway, an immigration 

agency, that placed investors in the CallSocket EB-5 projects, on other immigration matters that 

are unrelated to this action. Divine Decl., ¶ 6. 

Mr. Divine’s hourly rates and the hourly rates of Baker Donelson the attorney who will 

assist him are as follows. Baker Donelson has discounted its rates in recognition of the need of 

cost efficiency. 

Attorney Practice Hourly Rate 

Robert C. Divine 

Partner 

Immigration $460 

Melanie Walker 

Associate 

Immigration $260 

Kathleen Harrison 

Associate 

Immigration $260 

Divine Decl., ¶ 4. 

Baker Donelson also employs paralegals with hourly rates of $200. Baker Donelson’s 

charges its costs as actual costs. Baker Donelson will seek compensation in compliance with the 

terms of the Appointment Order and agrees to bill its fees and costs in this case in accordance with 

the Billing Instructions for Receivers in Civil Actions Commenced by the U.S. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, and upon application and approval by the Court. Divine Decl., ¶ 5. 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

E. Employment and Engagement of Bachecki Crom 

Pursuant to the terms of the Appointment Order, the Receiver and Monitor seek to employ 

and compensate Bachecki Crom to prepare and file tax returns; to prepare tax projections and 

perform tax analysis; to analyze the tax impact of potential transactions; to testify as to accounting 

and financial issues; to prepare a forensic accounting of the transfers among the various received 

entities and monitored entities; and to consult with the Receiver and the Receiver’s counsel as to 

those matters. Uecker Decl., ¶ 8. 

The normal billing rates for Bachecki Crom are as follows: 

Partners $380 - $525 / hour 

Senior Accountant $270 - $360 / hour 

Junior Accountant $165 - $260 / hour 

Mr. Crom has been a certified public accountant for over thirty-four (34) years. He also 

holds a certificate from the Association of Insolvency and Reorganization Advisors as a certified 

insolvency and reorganization advisor and holds a certificate as a Certified Fraud Examiner. 

Crom Decl., ¶ 2. Bachecki, Crom has extensive experience in providing financial investigation, 

tax preparation, insolvency and forensic accounting and financial advisory services. Crom Decl., 

¶ 3. Bachecki, Crom has no connection with any of the parties or interested persons in the within 

case, except that Bachecki Crom represented the Receiver as the accountant in the State Court 

Action, and has rendered services to the Receiver in other unrelated receivership and bankruptcy 

trustee cases. Crom Decl., ¶ 5. 

Bachecki Crom charges its costs as actual costs. Bachecki Crom will seek compensation 

in compliance with the terms of the Appointment Order and agrees to bill its fees and costs in this 

case in accordance with the Billing Instructions for Receivers in Civil Actions Commences by the 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

V. CONCLUSION 

For the foregoing reasons, the Receiver, and Monitor, respectfully requests that this Court 

enter an Order: 

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Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP 

1111 Broadway, 24t h Floor 

Oakland, California 94607-4036 

1. Authorizing the Receiver and Monitor to employ and compensate Uecker & 

Associates, in accordance with the terms described herein; 

2. Authorizing the Receiver and Monitor to employ and compensate Wendel Rosen, 

as her general receivership counsel, in accordance with the terms described herein. 

3. Authorizing the Receiver to employ and compensate Akawie & LaPietra , as her 

leasing counsel, in accordance with the terms described herein; and 

4. Authorizing the Receiver and Monitor to employ and compensate Baker Donelson, 

as her immigration EB-5 counsel, in accordance with the terms described herein. 

5. Authorizing the Receiver and Monitor to employ and compensate Bachecki Crom 

as her forensic and tax accountants, in accordance with the terms described herein. 

DATED: April 5, 2017 UECKER & ASSOCIATES 

By: /s/ Susan L. Uecker 

 Susan L. Uecker 

Receiver and Monitor 

DATED: April 6, 2017 WENDEL, ROSEN, BLACK & DEAN LLP 

By: /s/ Elizabeth Berke-Dreyfuss 

 Elizabeth Berke-Dreyfuss 

Proposed Attorneys for Receiver and Monitor 

Case 3:17-cv-00223-RS Document 103 Filed 04/06/17 Page 15 of 15