Attorneys for three defendants in the DFRF Enterprises securities fraud lawsuit informed a federal court on January 31st that they could no longer locate or communicate with their clients. Wanderley Dalman, Gaspar C. Jesus, and Eduardo N. Da Silva are named in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint alleging a fraudulent unregistered securities offering.
The court had set a February 28th deadline for the defendants to either withdraw or renew their pending motions to dismiss the SEC’s case. On that date, all three motions were indeed renewed. This action occurred despite the defense counsel’s repeated admissions that they still had no contact with Dalman, Jesus, or Da Silva.
The SEC has formally objected to the renewed motions. The regulator contends that the attorneys’ inability to find their clients, or even speak with them, makes continued legal representation impossible. The SEC reiterated its stance that these motions should be denied based on the plausibility of the securities fraud and unregistered offering claims already laid out against the three defendants.
The SEC alleges that Dalman, Jesus, and Da Silva worked closely with DFRF Enterprises owner Daniel Filho. While Filho was in Massachusetts, Dalman and Jesus reportedly introduced him to potential investors. They also accompanied him to investor meetings, met with prospective investors without him, and sometimes collected investor funds directly in cash or checks. Da Silva joined Filho on at least one trip to Massachusetts in August 2014 to meet with potential investors. He was officially listed as DFRF Enterprises’ General Manager. All three men also appeared in DFRF Enterprises promotional videos.
The SEC filed its opposition to the renewed motions on March 14th. A decision from the court remains pending.
On July 31st, all three motions to dismiss were denied by the court.