SRF 48591
IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
RICHMOND DIVISION
)
In re:
)
Chapter 11
)
ASCENA RETAIL GROUP, INC., et al.,
1
)
Case No. 20-33113 (KRH)
)
Debtors.
)
(Jointly Administered)
)
CERTIFICATE OF PUBLICATION
I, Nicholas Vass, depose and say that I am employed by Prime Clerk LLC (“Prime
Clerk”), the claims, noticing and solicitation agent for the Debtors in the above-captioned
chapter 11 cases.
This Certificate of Publication includes sworn statements verifying that the Notice of Sale
Hearing as conformed for publication, was published on November 30, 2020 in the New York
Times, as described in the sworn statement attached hereto as Exhibit A, and was published on
December 2, 2020 in the national edition of USA Today, as described in the sworn statement
attached hereto as Exhibit B.
/s/ Nicholas Vass
Nicholas Vass
Dated: December 3, 2020
State of New York
County of New York
Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on December 3, 2020, by Nicholas Vass,
proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person who appeared before me.
/s/ KELSEY LYNNE GORDON
Notary Public, State of New York
No. 01GO6405463
Qualified in Kings County
Commission Expires March 9, 2024
1
A complete list of each of the Debtors in these chapter 11 cases may be obtained on the website of the Debtors’
claims and noticing agent at https://cases.primeclerk.com/ascena. The location of Debtor Ascena Retail Group, Inc.’s
principal place of business and the Debtors’ service address in these chapter 11 cases is 933 MacArthur Boulevard,
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430.
PROOF OF PUBLICATION
___________________________ 20___
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Nov 30, 2020, NYT & Natl, pg B5
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THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2020
RETIREMENT
David Jarmul and his wife,
Champa, long envisioned what
their retirement would look like.
After returning from a two-year
Peace Corps stint in Moldova in
2018, the couple, both 67, planned
extensive travel, including trips to
the Baltics, West Africa and Sri
Lanka.
“Travel is our passion — it’s
what we love to do,” said Mr.
Jar-mul, who retired in 2015 as head of
news and communications for
Duke University.
For now, the two are living a
Covid-19 retirement — packed
with volunteer and social pursuits
but reconfigured for a social
dis-tancing world. Mr. Jarmul is
deliv-ering groceries to a local food
pantry. And the two are caring for
their 15-month-old grandson —
playing hide-and-seek and
read-ing books — while their son and
daughter-in-law work from home
and supervise the online classes
of two older sons.
“We are happy to spend the
time with him. It’s helpful for our
son and daughter-in-law,” said Mr.
Jarmul, author of “Not Exactly
Retired,” a book about the couple’s
Moldova experience.
As for his retirement dreams,
Mr. Jarmul considers himself
for-tunate compared to those with
true hardship. “Despairing is not
a great solution,” he said. “We are
trying deliberately to fill our lives
with activities that give us
mean-ing — remainmean-ing connected to our
friends and being good members
of the community.”
Just as the pandemic has
up-ended the lives of students and
workers, it is derailing the plans of
many retirees. Besides any
finan-cial toll, the significant health
risks that Covid-19 poses for the
elderly are forcing many retirees
to defer cherished items on their
bucket list: travel, volunteering at
hospitals and schools, socializing
at senior centers, and excursions
to sports and cultural events.
Because of their age, some
re-tirees worry they may need to
scrap their plans altogether if
co-ronavirus dangers persist.
“We recognize as we get older
that the single most valuable
thing we have is time, and healthy
time. And time is being lost in this
moment,” said Paul Irving,
chair-man of the Milken Institute
Cen-ter for the Future of Aging, in
Santa Monica, Calif. “It’s a source
of anxiety for a lot of people who
may be deferring plans to move or
to spend time with kids and
grand-children.”
Still, more than six months into
the pandemic, many retirees,
af-ter what some described as a
peri-od of fear and hopelessness, are
finding ways to adapt.
Since the pandemic started,
Phyllis Diamond, a Manhattan
therapist and retirement coach,
said clients are calling for advice
on revising their retirement
ex-pectations. “I believe strongly in
the importance of action,” she
said. “Feeling stuck can lead to
anxiety and depression.”
She suggests that clients make
a “curious list” of anything they
would like to learn more about. Or,
she said, “you can revive old
pas-sions — things you may have done
in the past but put on hold.”
Her husband bought a new
gui-tar, an instrument he has not
played for 35 years. Other clients
are writing memoirs, taking art
and dance classes, or preparing
for second-act careers.
For many retirees stuck at
home, technology is a lifeline.
Though initially intimidated,
they’ve turned to Zoom, YouTube,
apps and streaming platforms to
meet with friends, exercise, visit
museums and volunteer, using
websites like
Volunteer-Match.org.
The pandemic “is forcing many
retirees to use technology that
they may not have used
previ-ously,” said Roger Whitney, a
cer-tified financial planner in Fort
Worth, Texas, and author of the
book “Rock Retirement.” “That
will bode well for them in the
fu-ture.”
In mid-September, the Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute at
Duke University began a fall
cur-riculum of 65 courses, offered via
Zoom to its nearly 2,600 members.
Most courses are taught live by
re-tired professors and other experts
who are 65 and older. “Many are
excited to be teaching online for
the very first time,” said the
insti-tute’s director, Chris McLeod.
When the pandemic lockdown
began in mid-March, the institute
canceled its in-person classes. A
month later, it provided lessons to
members on how to use Zoom and
began a series of online courses.
Many of its affiliated institutes at
124 universities also have moved
courses online.
Members who never took
courses because they traveled or
babysat for their grandchildren
are signing on. “This gives them a
greater sense of belonging,” Ms.
McLeod said. The institute’s
sin-gles group is also meeting
virtual-ly.
Ms. Diamond said that she and
several clients take classes with
Vitality Society, a virtual platform
for people 60 and older that
com-bines live exercise and wellness
classes with social interaction
among members.
The site launched in January,
and membership began to take off
as older adults moved into
lock-down, said Meredith Oppenheim,
a senior-business specialist who
started the venture. Members pay
$30 a month for unlimited classes,
while nonmembers pay $10 per
class.
The 15 to 20 participants in a
class can see each other and the
coach. Ten minutes before a
ses-sion begins, class-goers can sign
on and chat. “They really are
forming virtual relationships,”
Ms. Oppenheim said. For older
adults, the “need to stay well and
connected,” she said, “is more
ur-gent than ever.”
Indeed, for retirees who
previ-ously kept busy schedules dining
with friends, visiting the gym, and
hobnobbing at senior centers and
volunteer programs, the potential
for isolation and loneliness is a
real concern.
Mark Fischer, 77, a retired
fi-nancial planner, and his wife, Lucy
Rose, 76, an artist, sought a
vi-brant city life when they moved
last August from a house just
out-side Minneapolis to a
two-bed-room apartment in a senior-living
community downtown.
Now the building’s fitness
cen-ter is closed, as is the activity
room where residents attended an
array of social activities and
cul-tural programs.
To maintain their social
connec-tions, the couple have invited
friends for dinner on their large
balcony. And Mr. Fischer’s
discov-ery of Zoom has “opened up the
world for socializing.”
“I am talking to friends I have
not seen for a long time,” he said.
Six years ago, Paula Cohen, 69,
a retired antiques dealer who still
scours flea markets to sell online,
moved with her husband from
Brooklyn to the 55-plus Concordia
retirement community in Monroe
Township, N.J. She made friends
during social gatherings, study
sessions and outings run by the
Concordia chapter of the Brandeis
National Committee, an
organiza-tion that raises funds for Brandeis
University. In mid-March, the
ac-tivities ended.
But not for long. Though she
had never heard of Zoom before
the pandemic, Ms. Cohen, a
chap-ter vice president, and other
offi-cers revived the group for the
dig-ital age.
Members received instructions
on the technology. At the end of
April, they began virtually
social-izing during cooking classes and
discussions on books, philosophy
and ethics. A new group
ex-changes views on streamed
tele-vision series. “People are
watch-ing more TV now,” she said.
A virtual scavenger hunt was
particularly popular, Ms. Cohen
said. Items on the to-find list
in-cluded a VHS tape and a
harmon-ica. The player who returned first
to the screen with an item won a
point. The top three winners won
prizes of wine and chocolate.
Scheduled for October: a live
virtual tour of Lisbon led by a
guide from Tours by Locals. After
the “trip,” the travelers will sit by
their screens eating a Portuguese
lunch prepared by a couple of
members and delivered to each
participant’s home.
“We see 20 to 40 people each
time doing these things, and it
tremendously lessens the feeling
of isolation,” Ms. Cohen said.
Sylvia Saba, too, wanted to
fig-ure out how to alleviate the
loneli-ness she and other older adults
were experiencing.
Before the pandemic, her days
were packed with activities at her
retirement community in
Saraso-ta, Fla., and at a nearby senior
center. “Then the virus came
along, and we were all stuck
alone,” said Ms. Saba, 65, who is
divorced.
After some brainstorming, Ms.
Saba, a retired French instructor,
and her daughter Eva Hibnick, 35,
a technology entrepreneur in Los
Angeles, hit on an idea. In early
July, they launched Highway61, a
website to help people 50 and
old-er remain socially engaged.
Using the audio feature on a
computer, tablet or smartphone,
an older person can tap into group
games and discussions on books,
travel and aging alone.
“We were hoping people would
make new friends and chat like
they would at a cafe,” Ms. Saba
said.
Most participants are members
of senior centers, which are
closed, but anyone has access.
While Ms. Hibnick runs the
tech-nology, Ms. Saba recruits senior
centers and instructors.
Ms. Saba has passed on the
word to her friends at her
retire-ment community. “They love it —
they come to bingo all the time,”
she said.
Some retirees and those near
retirement are using
shelter-in-place time to explore encore
ca-reers. Colleen Kelly, 60, has had a
longtime passion for nutrition and
wellness, incorporating healthy
eating and exercise into her
fre-netic life as a corporate executive
in Manhattan. Her next-stage
en-deavor: wellness coach.
Ms. Kelly still works as chief
ex-ecutive of a company that designs
evening apparel for the wholesale
market. From her second home in
Warwick, N.Y., about 50 miles
from the city, she is also tackling
an online curriculum on wellness
coaching and building a business
in the field.
Though Ms. Kelly began the
program in November, she said,
“the pandemic has allowed me
more time to focus on it.” She
prac-tices health consultations by
phone with friends who are also at
home.
After Ms. Kelly leaves her
full-time job in several years, she said,
she intends to start a company
that would assist older women
im-prove their health by motivating
them to make changes in diet and
lifestyle. “I want to help people
im-prove their immune systems, so
they won’t live in fear again,” she
said.
Retirees are also finding new
ways to volunteer.
Laurie Goldwasser, 66, a retired
geriatric social worker who lives
in Chapel Hill, N.C., has received
extensive training as a Covid-19
contact tracer for Duke. She also
is printing out absentee ballot
re-quest forms and filling out
envel-opes to be distributed to residents
of senior housing complexes.
“In the past, I would have been
at farmers’ markets registering
people, but I am not exposing
my-self,” she said.
From her home, Ms.
Gold-wasser volunteers for the local
Meals on Wheels, which, after the
pandemic started, switched from
near-daily delivery of hot meals to
a once-a-week delivery of five
frozen meals. The change meant
that volunteer deliverers could no
longer visit with homebound
sen-iors.
Several days a week, Ms.
Gold-wasser calls about a dozen Meals
on Wheels recipients. She asks
how they are doing and reports to
the organization if she thinks
there is a problem. The
conversa-tions cover all sorts of things, from
food to books.
Ms. Goldwasser said her
volun-teer work with the elderly has put
the pandemic in perspective.
“The simplicity of the call really
makes such a difference for these
people, and they have enriched
my life,” she said. “It is a constant
reminder about how much I have
to be grateful for.”
Retirees Are Revising Plans and Turning to Virtual Activities
David and Champa Jarmul, in Durham, N.C., had to shelve plans for retirement travel. They’re spending more time with their 15-month-old grandson.
JEREMY M. LANGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Sylvia Saba, outside her condominium in Sarasota, Fla., joined with her daughter to create Highway61, an online chat community for seniors.
EVE EDELHEIT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Residents of John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla., celebrate a birthday.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
By SUSAN B. GARLAND
IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
In re: LUCKY’S MARKET PARENT COMPANY, LLC, et al.,1
Debtors.
Chapter 11 Case No. 20-10166 (JTD) (Jointly Administered)
NOTICE OF HEARING TO CONSIDER CONFIRMATION OF THE CHAPTER 11 PLAN FILED BY THE DEBTORS AND RELATED VOTING AND OBJECTION DEADLINES PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT on November 24,2020,the United States
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Court”) entered an
order [Docket No.1272] (the“Disclosure Statement Order”):(a)
approv-ing the First Amended Disclosure Statement for Joint Chapter 11 Plan of
Liquidation of Lucky’s Market Parent Company, LLC and its Debtor Affiliates,
including all exhibits and schedules thereto (as may be modified,amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Disclosure Statement”); (b)
establishing the voting record date, voting deadline, and other related dates in connection with confirmation of the First Amended Joint Chapter
11 Plan of Liquidation of Lucky’s Market Parent Company, LLC and its Debtor Affiliates (as may be modified, amended or supplemented from time to
time, the “Plan”);2(c) approving procedures for soliciting, receiving, and
tabulating votes on the Plan; and (d) approving the manner and forms of notice and other related documents as they relate to the Debtors.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT the hearing at which the Court
will consider Confirmation of the Plan (the“Confirmation Hearing”) will
commence onDecember 23, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time,before the Honorable JohnT.Dorsey,in the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Delaware, located at 824 N. Market Street, Sixth Floor, Courtroom #5, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, which may be held telephonically and/or by video conference,unless the Court determines,in its discretion,that a hearing should be conducted on-site.3
PLEASE BE ADVISED: THE CONFIRMATION HEARING MAY BE CONTINUED
FROM TIME TO TIME BY THE COURT OR THE DEBTORSWITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE OTHER THAN BY SUCH ADJOURNMENT BEING ANNOUNCED IN
OPEN COURT OR BY A NOTICE OF ADJOURNMENT FILED WITH THE COURT AND SERVED ON ALL PARTIES ENTITLEDTO NOTICE.
CRITICAL INFORMATION REGARDINGVOTING ONTHE PLAN Voting Record Date. The voting record date is November 27, 2020
(the “Voting Record Date”), which is the date for determining which
Holders of Claims and Interests are entitled to vote on the Plan.
Voting Deadline. The deadline for voting on the Plan is December 18, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time (the “Voting Deadline”). If you received a Solicitation Package including a Ballot and
intend to vote on the Plan,youmust:(a) follow the instructions carefully;
(b) completeall of the required information on the Ballot;and (c) execute
and return your completed Ballot according to and as set forth in detail in the voting instructions so that it isactually received by the Debtors’
notice and claims agent, Omni Agent Solutions (the“Notice and Claims Agent”) on or before the Voting Deadline. A failure to follow such
instructionsmaydisqualifyyourvote.
CRITICAL INFORMATION REGARDING OBJECTINGTOTHE PLAN
ARTICLEVIII OFTHE PLAN CONTAINS RELEASE,EXCULPATION,AND INJUNCTION PROVISIONS,ANDARTICLEVIII.E CONTAINS ATHIRD-PARTY RELEASE.THUS,YOUAREADVISEDTOREVIEW ANDCONSIDERTHE
PLAN CAREFULLY BECAUSEYOUR RIGHTS MIGHT BEAFFECTEDTHEREUNDER.
THIS NOTICE IS BEING SENTTOYOU FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.IFYOU HAVE QUESTIONSWITH RESPECTTOYOUR
RIGHTS UNDERTHE PLAN OR ABOUT ANYTHING STATED HEREIN OR IFYOUWOULD LIKETO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION,
CONTACTTHE NOTICE AND CLAIMS AGENT. Plan Objection Deadline. The deadline for filing objections to the
Plan isDecember 18, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time
(the “Plan Objection Deadline”). All objections to the relief sought
at the Confirmation Hearingmust: (a) be in writing; (b) comply with the
Bankruptcy Rules, the Local Rules, and any applicable orders of the Court; (c) set forth the name of the objector and the nature and amount of any Claim or Interest asserted by the objector against or in the Debtors’Estates; (d) state, with particularity, the legal and factual bases for the objection and,if practicable,a proposed modification to the Plan that would resolve
such objection;and (e) be filed with the Court (contemporaneously with a proof of service) and served upon the following parties so as to beactually receivedon or before the PlanObjection Deadline.
(i)Counsel to the Debtors: Polsinelli PC, Christopher A. Ward, 222
Delaware Avenue, Suite 1101,Wilmington, Delaware 19801, Liz Boydston, 2950 N. Harwood, Suite 2100, Dallas, Texas 75201; (ii)Counsel to the Committee:Hahn & Hessen LLP, Mark S.Indelicato,MarkT.Power,Jeffrey
Zawadzki,Emma Fleming,488 Madison Avenue,NewYork,NewYork 10022 -and-Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Matthew P.Ward, Morgan L.
Patterson, 1313 North Market Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (iii)Counsel to the Prepetition Secured Lender: Weil, Gotshal
& Manges LLP, Garrett A. Fail, Moshe A. Fink, 767 Fifth Avenue, New
York, New York 10153 -and-Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Zachary I.
Shapiro,One Rodney Square,920 North King Street,Wilmington,Delaware 19801; and (iv)U.S. Trustee: Office of the United States Trustee,
Timothy J.Fox,844 King Street,Suite 2207,Wilmington,Delaware 19801
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Obtaining Solicitation Materials. The materials in the Solicitation
Package are intended to be self-explanatory. If you should have any questions or if you would like to obtain additional solicitation materials (or paper copies of solicitation materials if you received a an electronic version), please feel free to contact the Notice and Claims Agent by: (a) visiting, free of charge, https://cases.omniagentsolutions.com/ luckysmarket, (b) writing to LMPC Ballot Processing, c/o Omni Agent Solutions, 5955 De Soto Avenue, Suite 100, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, or via email at [email protected],or (c) calling (866) 662-2204.You may also obtain copies of any pleadings filed in these Chapter 11 Cases for a fee via PACER at: https://www.deb.uscourts.gov. Please be advised that the Notice and Claims Agent is authorized to answer questions about,and provide additional copies of,solicitation materials,but may not advise you as to whether you should vote to accept or reject the Plan.
The Plan Supplement. The Debtors will file the Plan Supplement
(as defined in the Plan) on or beforeDecember 11, 2020, and will serve
notice on all Holders of Claims and Interests entitled to vote on the Plan, which will:(a) inform parties that the Debtors filed the Plan Supplement; (b) list the information contained in the Plan Supplement;and (c) explain how parties may obtain copies of the Plan Supplement.
BINDING NATURE OFTHE PLAN: IF CONFIRMED,THE PLAN SHALL BIND ALL HOLDERS OF CLAIMS AND INTERESTSTOTHE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW,WHETHER OR NOT SUCH HOLDERWILL RECEIVE OR RETAIN ANY PROPERTY OR INTEREST IN PROPERTY UNDERTHE PLAN,HAS FILED A PROOF OF CLAIM INTHE CHAPTER 11 CASES,FAILEDTOVOTETO ACCEPT OR REJECTTHE PLAN,
ORVOTEDTO REJECTTHE PLAN.
1 The Debtors in these chapter 11 cases, along with the last four digits
of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, are Lucky’s Market Parent Company, LLC (2055), Lucky’s Farmers Market Holding Company, LLC (5480), Lucky’s Market Operating Company, LLC (7064), LFM Stores LLC (3114), Lucky’s Farmers Market, LP (0828), Lucky’s Farmers Market Resource Center, LLC (7711), Lucky’s Market Holding Company 2, LLC (0607),Lucky’s Market GP 2,LLC (9335),Lucky’s Market 2,LP (8384),Lucky’s Market of Longmont, LLC (9789), Lucky’s Farmers Market of Billings, LLC (8088), Lucky’s Farmers Markets of Columbus, LLC (3379), Lucky’s Farmers Market of Rock Hill, LLC (3386), LFM Jackson, LLC (8300), Lucky’s Farmers Market of Ann Arbor,LLC (4067),Lucky’s Market of Gainesville,LLC (7877), Lucky’s Market of Bloomington, LLC (3944), Lucky’s Market of Plantation, LLC (4356), Lucky’s Market of Savannah, GA, LLC (1097), Lucky’s Market of Traverse,City,LLC (2033),Lucky’s Market of Naples,FL,LLC (8700),Sinoc,Inc. (0723,) Lucky’s Farmers Market of Ellisville,LLC (2875),and Lucky’s Farmers Market of Lexington,KY,LLC (3446).
2 Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning given
to such terms in the Plan or Disclosure Statement,as applicable.
3 The Fifth Amended Order Governing the Conduct of Hearings Due to
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Reconstituting Operations issued by the Court on June 17, 2020 provides that, unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, all Court Hearings held after June 17, 2020 shall be held telephonically and/or by video conference. Any party participating telephonically must make arrangements through CourtCall by telephone (866-582-6878) or facsimile (866-533-2946).
IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND DIVISION
In re:
ASCENA RETAIL GROUP, INC., et al.,1
Debtors. ) ) ) Chapter 11 Case No. 20-33113 (KRH) (Jointly Administered)
NOTICE OF SALE HEARING PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on November 26, 2020, the Debtors filed
the Debtors’ Motion for Entry of an Order (I) Approving the Assumption
and Assignment of Certain Non-Real Property Contracts and Real Property Leases, (II) Approving the Sale of Premium and Lane Bryant and Certain Other Assets Free and Clear of All Liens,Claims,Encumbrances,and Interests, (III) Authorizing the Assumption and Assignment of Certain Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases, (IV) Establishing Rejection Procedures, and (V) Granting Related Relief [Docket No. 1212] (the “Sale Motion”)2with
the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (the“Court”) in the chapter 11 cases of the above-captioned debtors and debtors in possession (collectively,the“Debtors”).
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, pursuant to the Sale Motion,
the Debtors are seeking the Court’s approval to sell certain corporate assets and certain other assets associated with its Lane Bryant brand and its Premium business segment,comprised of Ann Taylor,LOFT,and Lou & Grey (the“SaleTransaction”).
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Debtors will seek approval
of the Sale Transaction at a hearing scheduled to commence on or before
December 8, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time) (the“Sale
Hearing”) before the Honorable Kevin R Huennekens,at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia,conducted consistent with the procedures established pursuant to the Bankruptcy Court’s standing orders regarding remote hearings in bankruptcy cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic,all of which are facilitated via Zoomgov.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that objections to consummation or
approval of the Sale Transaction must: (a) be in writing;(b) conform to the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Rules and the Local Bankruptcy Rules; (c) state with particularity the legal and factual bases for the objection and the specific grounds therefor;and (d) be filed with the Court and served so as to beactuallyreceivedon or before December 7,2020
at 12:00 p.m.(prevailing EasternTime) by the following parties: (i) the
Debtors, Ascena Group Retail, Inc., 933 MacArthur Boulevard, Mahwah, New Jersey 07430, Attn:Michael Veitenheimer; (ii) counsel to the Debtors, Kirkland & Ellis LLP,300 North LaSalle,Chicago,Illinois 60654,Attn: John R. Luze and Jeff Michalik and Kirkland & Ellis LLP,601 Lexington Avenue,New York,NewYork 10022,Attn:Steven N.Serajeddini,P.C.;(iii) co-counsel to the Debtors,Cooley LLP,1299 Pennsylvania Avenue,NW,Suite 700,Washington, D.C. 20004-2400, Attn: Cullen D. Speckhart and Olya Antle; (iv) counsel to the ABL agent,(a) Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP,One Federal Street,Boston, Massachusetts 02110, Attn: Matthew F. Furlong, Julia Frost-Davies and Christopher L. Carter, and (b) Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Riverfront Plaza, East Tower, 951 East Byrd Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, Attn: Tyler P. Brown;(v) the United States Trustee for the Eastern District of Virginia,701 East Broad Street, Suite 4304, Richmond, Virginia 23219, Attn: Kathryn Montgomery; (vi) counsel to the Creditors’ Committee, Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, 780 Third Avenue, 34thFloor, New York, New York 10017,
Attn: Robert Feinstein, Bradford Sandler, and Shirley Cho; (vii) counsel to the term loan ad hoc group, Milbank LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 1001, Attn: Evan R.Fleck, Esq; (viii) counsel to Premium Apparel LLC, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, 450 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017, Attn: Damian S.Schaible and Angela M.Libby.
CONSEQUENCES OF FAILINGTOTIMELY MAKE AN OBJECTION ANY PARTY OR ENTITY WHO FAILS TO TIMELY MAKE AN OBJECTION TO THE SALE TRANSACTION ON OR BEFORE THE SALE OBJECTION DEADLINE SHALL BE FOREVER BARRED FROM ASSERTING ANY OBJECTION TO THE SALE TRANSACTION, INCLUDING WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSFER OF THE DEBTORS’ ASSETS FREE AND CLEAR OF ALL LIENS, CLAIMS, ENCUMBRANCES, AND OTHER INTERESTS,EXCEPT AS SET FORTH INTHE PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
Dated: November 26,2020
1 A complete list of each of the Debtors in these chapter 11 cases may
be obtained on the website of the Debtors’ claims and noticing agent at http://cases.primeclerk.com/ascena.The location of Debtor Ascena Retail Group,Inc.’s principal place of business and the Debtors’service address in these chapter 11 cases is 933 MacArthur Boulevard, Mahwah, New Jersey 07430.
2 Capitalized terms used but not defined in this notice have the
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NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICE
UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT, DISTRICT OF DELAWARE In re:
BBGI US,INC.,etal.,
Debtors.
Chapter 11
Case Nos.: 20-11785 (CSS) Through 20-11797 (CSS) and 20 -12112 (CSS) (Jointly Administered) NOTICE OF DEADLINES TO FILE PROOFS OF CLAIM TO: ALL PERSONS AND ENTITIES WHO MAY HAVE CLAIMS AGAINST ANY OF THE FOLLOWING DEBTORS: Name of Debtor, Case Number, Tax Identification Number: BBGI US, Inc., 20-11785 (CSS),51-0368883;Brooks Brothers Far East Limited.,20-11786 (CSS),N/A; 696 White Plains Road, LLC , 20-11787 (CSS), 85-0557265; BBD Holding 1, LLC , 20-11788 (CSS), N/A; BBD Holding 2, LLC , 20-11789 (CSS), N/A; BBDI, LLC , 20-11790 (CSS), N/A; BBGI International, LLC , 20-11791 (CSS), N/A; BBGI Restaurant, LLC, 20-11792 (CSS), 46-1763846; Deconic Group LLC, 20-11793 (CSS), 32-0190969; Golden Fleece Manufacturing Group, LLC, 20-11794 (CSS), 26-2885649; RBA Wholesale, LLC, 20-11795 (CSS), 13-4280986;Retail Brand Alliance Gift Card Services,LLC,20-11796 (CSS), 27-1731916; Retail Brand Alliance of Puerto Rico, Inc., 20-11797 (CSS), 04-3662147;BBGICanadaLtd.,20-12112(CSS),98-1344709
OTHER NAMES USED BY THE DEBTORS IN THE PAST 8 YEARS: Brooks Brothers; Retail Brand Alliance, Inc.; Brooks; Global Trading Company; Brooks Brothers Red Fleece Café; Carolee LLC andCaroleeDesigns Inc.; Southwick ApparelLLC
YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS NOTICE BECAUSE YOU MAY HAVE A CLAIM AGAINST THE DEBTORS IN THE ABOVE-CAPTIONED CHAPTER 11 CASES. THEREFORE,YOU SHOULD READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND CONSULT AN ATTORNEY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, INCLUDINGWHETHERYOUSHOULDFILE APROOFOFCLAIM. PLEASETAKENOTICETHAT:
On July 8,2020 (the“Petition Date”),the above listed debtors,except BBGI Canada Ltd. (“BB Canada”), as debtors and debtors in possession (the “Original Debtors” and together with BB Canada, the “Debtors”), filed voluntary cases under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the“Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”). On September 10, 2020 (the“Canada Petition Date”),Debtor BB Canada also commenced with the Bankruptcy Court a voluntary case under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.
On November 16, 2020, the Bankruptcy Court, having jurisdic-tion over the chapter 11 cases of the Debtors, entered an order (the “Supplemental Bar Date Order”) establishing the following SupplementalBarDates:
(i) December 18, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) as the deadline for each person or entity (including individuals, partnerships, corporations, joint ventures, trusts, but not including governmental units (as defined in section 101(27) of the Bankruptcy Code) (“Governmental Units”)),to file a proof of claim (each,a“Proof of Claim”) in respect of a prepetition claim (as defined in section 101(5) of the Bankruptcy Code), including, for the avoidance of doubt, secured claims, unsecured priority claims, unsecured non-priority claims, and claims arising under section 503(b)(9) of the Bankruptcy Code against BB Canada (the “Canada General BarDate”),unlessotherwiseprovidedherein;
(ii) March 9, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.(Eastern Time) as the deadline for Governmental Units to file a Proof of Claim in respect of a prepetition claim againstBBCanada(the“CanadaGovernmentalBarDate”);
(iii) the later of (i) the Canada General Bar Date or the Canada Governmental Bar Date, as applicable, or (ii) 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the date that is 30 days from the date on which BB Canada provides notice of a previously unfiled Schedule or an amendment or supplement to its Schedules (as defined herein) as the deadline by which claimants holding claims affected by such filing,amendment or supplement must file Proofs of Claim with respect to such claim (the“Amended Canada Schedules BarDate”);
(iv) the later of (i) the Canada General Bar Date or the Canada Governmental Bar Date, as applicable, or (ii) 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the date that is 30 days following the later of (1) if an order is entered, the date of service of an order approving the rejection of any executory contract or unexpired lease of BB Canada and (2) if no order is entered, the effective rejection date for the rejection of any executory contract or unexpired lease of BB Canada, as the deadline by which claimants asserting claims resulting from BB Canada’s rejection of an executory contract or unexpired lease must file Proofs of Claim for damages arising fromsuchrejection1(the“CanadaRejectionDamagesBar Date”);
(v) December 18, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) as the deadline for each person or entity (including, without limitation, each individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation, estate, Governmental Unit, and trust) to file a Proof of Claim in respect of a claim against any Debtor (other than BB Canada) first arising on or after the Petition Date through and including August 31, 2020, including claims under section 503(b)(1)-(8) of the Bankruptcy Code and claims of Governmental Units that are deemed entitled to administrative priority despite some portion of the claim being attributable to the period prior to the Petition Date (such claims, collectively, “Administrative Expense Claims” and the deadline,the“InterimAdministrativeClaimsBarDate”);
(vi) December 23, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) as the dead-line for each person or entity to file a Proof of Claim in respect of a claim on account of a pre-paid,reloadable gift card related to the Alexis Bittar® brand of goods sold prior to September 11,2020 (such gift cards,“AB Gift
Cards”) and merchandise or store credits issued prior to September 11, 2020 (“AB Customer Credits”,together with the AB Gift Cards, the “AB Customer Programs”,and the deadline, the“AB Customer Programs Bar Date”;the AB Customer Programs Bar Date together with the Canada General Bar Date, the Canada Governmental Bar Date, the Amended Canada Schedules Bar Date,the Canada Rejection Damages Bar Date,and the Interim Administrative Claims Bar Date, the “Supplemental Bar Dates”);
You may be a creditor of one or more of the debtors. If you have any questions relating to this Notice, please feel free to contact Prime Clerk LLC (“Prime Clerk”) at (877) 930-4317 (toll free) or 347-899-4592 (international) or by e-mail at [email protected].
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. WHO MUST FILE A PROOF OF CLAIM AGAINST BBGI CANADA LTD. Pursuant to section 101(5) of the Bankruptcy Code and as used in this Notice,the word“claim”means (i) a right to payment,whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured;or (ii) a right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment,whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured. Further, claims includeunsecuredclaims,securedclaims,andpriorityclaims.
Except as otherwise set forth herein, the following entities holding claims against BB Canada (and only BB Canada) arising prior to the Canada Petition Date MUST file Proofs of Claim on or before the applicable SupplementalBarDatelistedabove:
a. Any entity whose claim against BB Canada is not listed in BB Canada’s Schedules, or is listed as “contingent,” “unliquidated,” or “dis-puted”if such entity desires to participate in any of these chapter 11 cases orshareinanydistributioninanyofthesechapter11cases;
b. Any entity that believes that its claim is improperly classified in the Schedules or is listed in an incorrect amount and who desires to have its claim allowed in a different classification or amount other than that iden-tifiedintheSchedules;or
c. Any entity who believes that its claim against BB Canada is or may beentitledtopriorityundersection503(b)(9)oftheBankruptcyCode.
2. WHO NEED NOT FILE A PROOF OF CLAIM AGAINST BBGI CANADA LTD. The following entities whose claims against BB Canada would otherwise be subject to a Supplemental Bar Date need not file any ProofsofClaim:
a. Any person or entity whose claim is listed on BB Canada’s Schedules;
provided that (i) the claim is not listed on the Schedules
as“disputed,”“con-tingent,” or“unliquidated,” and (ii) the person or entity does not dispute theamount,nature,andpriorityoftheclaimassetforthintheSchedules;
b. Any person or entity who already has filed a signed Proof of Claim with Prime Clerk against BB Canada with respect to the claim being asserted,utilizing a claim form that substantially conforms to the Proof of ClaimForm(attachedtotheSupplementalBarDateOrderasExhibit 1);
c. Any person or entity who holds a claim that has been allowed by order of the Court entered on or before the applicable Supplemental Bar Date;
d. Anypersonorentitywhoseclaimhasbeenpaidinfull; e. Any person or entity who holds a claim for which a separate deadline has been fixed by an order of the Court entered on or before the applicableSupplementalBarDate;
f. Any current (as of the Canada Petition Date) employee of BB Canada,if an order of the Court authorized the Debtors to honor such claim in the ordinary course of business for wages, commissions, vacation or other compensation or benefits; including the Final Order (I) Authorizing
the Debtors to (A) Pay Prepetition Employee Wages, Salaries, Reimbursable Expenses, and Other Obligations on Account of Compensation and Benefits Programs and (B) Continue Compensation and Benefits Programs and (II) Granting Related Relief [D.I. 275], as made applicable to BB Canada
by D.I. 602 provided that if the Debtors provide written notice to any current employee of BB Canada stating that the Debtors do not intend to exercise their authority to pay such claim, such employee shall have until the later of (i) the Canada General Bar Date,and (ii) 30 days from the date of service of such written notice, to file a Proof of Claim; provided further
that a current employee of BB Canada must submit a Proof of Claim by
the applicable Supplemental Bar Date for all other claims arising before the Canada Petition Date, including claims for wrongful termination, discrimination,harassment,hostileworkenvironment,and/orretaliation; g. Any current (as of the Canada Petition Date) officer, director, or employee for claims based on indemnification, contribution, or reimbursement;
h. Any entity whose claim is solely against any of BB Canada’s non-Debtoraffiliates;
i. Any Debtor or non-Debtor subsidiary or affiliate having a claim againstBBCanada;
j. Any entity that is not required to file a Proof of Claim against BB CanadapursuanttoapriororderoftheCourt;or
k. Any person holding a claim based on a gift card or merchandise creditwithBBCanada.
3. FILING ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE CLAIMS AGAINST THE ORIGINAL DEBTORS. Each person or entity asserting a claim against any of the Original Debtors under section 503(b)(1)–(8) of the Bankruptcy
Code that first arose on or after the Petition Date through and including August 31,2020 MUST file an Administrative Claim Form by no later than theInterimAdministrativeClaimsBarDate.
The following entities whose Administrative Expense Claims against the Original Debtors would otherwise be subject to the Interim AdministrativeClaimsBarDateneednotfileanyProofsofClaim:
a. Professionals retained by the Debtors or the official committee of unsecured creditors (the “Committee”) and whose employment appli-cations (or employment as an “ordinary course professional”) have been approvedordeemedapprovedbytheCourt;
b. TheU.S.Trusteepursuantto28U.S.C.§1930;
c. Any party holding or previously holding an Administrative Expense Claim that has been paid or fully satisfied by the Debtors (or any other party) in the ordinary course of business or otherwise, or that is no longerentitledtoassertthatAdministrativeExpenseClaim;
d. Any party holding an Administrative Expense Claim that has been allowed by order of the Court prior to the Interim Administrative Claims BarDate,solelywithrespecttothatallowedclaim;
e. Any party that previously filed a Proof of Claim for an Administrative Expense Claim for the period from the Petition Date throughAugust31,2020,solelywithrespecttothatfiledclaim;
f. Any employee of the Debtors that was employed on the Petition Date if an order of the Court authorized the Debtors to honor such claim in the ordinary course of business for wages, commissions, vacation or other compensation or benefits including the Final Order (I) Authorizing
the Debtors to (A) Pay Prepetition Employee Wages, Salaries, Reimbursable Expenses, and Other Obligations on Account of Compensation and Benefits Programs and (B) Continue Compensation and Benefits Programs and (II) Granting Related Relief [D.I. 275]; provided that if the Debtors provide
written notice to any employee stating that the Debtors do not intend to exercise their authority to pay such claim, such employee shall have until 30 days from the date of service of such written notice to file a Proof of Claim; provided further that an employee must submit a Proof of Claim by the Interim Administrative Claims Bar Date for all other claims aris-ing between the Petition Date and August 31, 2020, includaris-ing claims for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, hostile work environ-ment,and/orretaliation;
g. Any Debtor or current,as of October 23,2020,non-Debtor affiliates oftheDebtors;or
h. Any holder of an Administrative Expense Claim that arose on or afterSeptember1,2020.
4. FILING CLAIMS FOR ALEXIS BITTAR GIFT CARDS OR MER-CHANDISE CREDITS. Each person or entity asserting a claim for gift cards or merchandise credits related to Alexis Bittar® brand of goods that were sold or issued prior to September 11, 2020 MUST file an AB Claim Form by the AB Customer Programs Bar Date.
5. INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING PROOFS OF CLAIM. Except as otherwise set forth herein, each entity that asserts a claim against BB Canada that arose before the Canada Petition Date, or who asserts an Administrative Expense Claim against the Debtors, MUST file a Proof of Claim.
Proofs of Claim must be filed (i) electronically through the website of the Debtors’ claims and noticing agent, Prime Clerk, using the interface available on such website located at https://cases.primeclerk.com/ brooksbrothers under the link entitled“Submit a Claim”(the“Electronic Filing System”) or (ii) by delivering the original Proof of Claim or Administrative Claim Form by hand,or mailing the original Proof of Claim form on or before the applicable Supplemental Bar Date as follows:If by overnight courier, hand deliver, or first class mail: BBGI US, Inc., Claims Processing Center, c/o Prime Clerk LLC, 850 3rdAvenue, Suite 412,
Brooklyn,NY11232.
A Proof of Claim shall be deemed timely filed only if it actually is received by Prime Clerk as set forth in subparagraph (d) above, in each case,onorbeforetheapplicableSupplementalBarDate.
Proofs of Claim sent by facsimile,telecopy,or electronic mail transmis-sion (other than Proofs of Claim filed electronically through the Electronic FilingSystem)willnotbeaccepted.
6. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE A PROOF OF CLAIM BY THE APPLICABLE SUPPLEMENTAL BAR DATE. Pursuant to the Supplemental Bar Date Order and Bankruptcy Rule 3003(c) (2), any holder of a claim who is required to timely file a Proof of Claim on or before the applicable Supplemental Bar Date as pro-vided herein, but fails to do so shall not be treated as a creditor with respect to such claim for the purposes of voting and distribu-tionin thesechapter11cases onaccountofsuchclaim.
If you require additional information regarding the filing of a proof of claim, you may contact the Debtors’ Claims and Noticing Agent directly at: Prime Clerk LLC, 850 3rd Avenue, Suite 412, Brooklyn, NY 11232; Telephone: (877) 930-4317 (toll free) or 347-899-4592 (international); or by e-mail at brooksbrothersinfo@ primeclerk.com.
1 Notwithstanding the foregoing, a party to an executory contract
or unexpired lease that asserts a claim on account of unpaid amounts accrued and outstanding as of the Petition Date pursuant to such executory contract or unexpired lease (other than a rejection damages claim) must file a Proof of Claim for such amounts on or before the applicable Supplemental Bar Date, unless an exception identified in this noticeapplies.
LEGAL NOTICE
IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF IRINIA, RICHOND DIISION In re: ASCENA RETAIL GROUP, INC., et al.,1
Debtors. )
)Chapter 11, Case No. 20-33113 (KRH)(Jointly Administered) NOTICE OF SAE HEARIN
PEASETAKENOTICEthatonNovember26,2020,theDebtorsfiledtheDebtors’MotionforEntryofanOrder
(I) Approving the Assumption and Assignment of Certain Non-Real Property Contracts and Real Property Leases, (II) Approving the Sale of Premium and Lane Bryant and Certain Other Assets Free and Clear of All Liens, Claims, Encumbrances,and Interests,(III) Authorizing the Assumption and Assignment of Certain Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases,(IV) Establishing Rejection Procedures,and (V) Granting Related Relief [Docket No.1212] (the
“Sale Motion”)2with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District ofVirginia (the“Court”) in the
chapter11casesoftheabove-captioneddebtorsanddebtorsinpossession(collectively,the“Debtors”). PEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, pursuant to the Sale Motion, the Debtors are seeking the Court’s approval to sell certain corporate assets and certain other assets associated with its Lane Bryant brand and its Premiumbusinesssegment,comprisedofAnnTaylor,LOFT,andLou&Grey(the“SaleTransaction”).
PEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Debtors will seek approval of the Sale Transaction at a hearing scheduled to commence on or before December 8,2020 at 1:00 p.m.(prevailing EasternTime) (the“Sale Hearing”) before the Honorable Kevin R Huennekens, at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia,conducted consistent with the procedures established pursuant to the Bankruptcy Court’s standing orders regarding remote hearings in bankruptcy cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which arefacilitatedviaZoomgov.
PEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that objections to consummation or approval of the Sale Transaction must: (a) be in writing; (b) conform to the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Rules and the Local Bankruptcy Rules; (c) state with particularity the legal and factual bases for the objection and the specific grounds therefor; and (d) be filed with the Court and served so as to be actually received on or before December 7, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time) by the following parties: (i) the Debtors, Ascena Group Retail,Inc.,933 MacArthur Boulevard,Mahwah,New Jersey 07430,Attn:Michael Veitenheimer; (ii) counsel to the Debtors, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois 60654, Attn: John R. Luze and Jeff Michalik and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 601 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Attn: Steven N. Serajeddini, P.C.; (iii) co-counsel to the Debtors, Cooley LLP, 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20004-2400, Attn: Cullen D. Speckhart and Olya Antle; (iv) counsel to the ABL agent, (a) Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP,One Federal Street,Boston,Massachusetts 02110,Attn: Matthew F.Furlong,Julia Frost-Davies and Christopher L. Carter, and (b) Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Riverfront Plaza, East Tower, 951 East Byrd Street, Richmond,Virginia 23219, Attn: Tyler P. Brown; (v) the United States Trustee for the Eastern District of Virginia, 701 East Broad Street, Suite 4304, Richmond,Virginia 23219, Attn: Kathryn Montgomery; (vi) counsel to the Creditors’ Committee, Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, 780 Third Avenue, 34thFloor, New
York,NewYork10017,Attn: Robert Feinstein,Bradford Sandler,and ShirleyCho;(vii)counsel totheterm loanad hoc group,Milbank LLP,55 Hudson Yards,New York,NY 1001,Attn: Evan R.Fleck,Esq;(viii) counsel to Premium Apparel LLC, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, 450 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10017, Attn: Damian S. SchaibleandAngelaM.Libby.
CONSEQUENCESOFFAIINTOTIEYAKEANOBJECTION
ANY PARTY OR ENTITY WHO FAIS TO TIEY AKE AN OBJECTION TO THE SAE TRANSACTION ON OR BEFORE THE SAE OBJECTION DEADINE SHA BE FOREER BARRED FRO ASSERTIN ANY OBJECTION TO THE SAE TRANSACTION, INCUDIN WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSFER OF THE DEBTORS’ASSETS FREE AND CEAR OF A IENS,CAIS,ENCUBRANCES,AND OTHER INTERESTS, EXCEPTASSETFORTHINTHEPURCHASEAREEENT.
Dated: November26,2020
1 A complete list of each of the Debtors in these chapter 11 cases may be obtained on the website of the
Debtors’ claims and noticing agent at http://cases.primeclerk.com/ascena. The location of Debtor Ascena Retail Group,Inc.’s principal place of business and the Debtors’service address in these chapter 11 cases is 933 MacArthurBoulevard,Mahwah,NewJersey07430. 2 CapitalizedtermsusedbutnotdefinedinthisnoticehavethemeaningsgiventothemintheSaleMotion.
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PERSONAL FINANCE
Tom Ernsting radiates the kind of
handsome silver-fox good looks of a
character right off the Hallmark
Chan-nel, just the sort of guy that plenty of
women would love to meet.
Unfortunately, Ernsting has heard
from way too many scorned women.
“They scream at me and they yell at
me for ruining their lives,” said Ernsting,
60.
“The stories I’ve heard are insane.”
One woman claims she handed over
her credit card information to him and
then he racked up $30,000 in charges.
Others were upset that they sent him
$500 to help him get across the border
into the United States so that he could
travel to see them, but he never showed
up. Some claim they lost money after
they put cash on Apple iTunes gift cards
to send to him.
“It’s just crazy,” Ernsting said. “It
def-initely took off during COVID because I
think people were even more desperate
and more lonely.
“It’s sad because they fall in love with
me.”
Ernsting, who has worked as a
pro-fessional model, says he did not reach
out to these women via social media or
apps, and he doesn’t have their money.
Ernsting does have a significant
so-cial media presence that scammers
have impersonated in order to steal
money from women who are
desperate-ly looking for love.
Sometimes, he’s heard from a dozen
upset women in a day who say they’ve
been scammed by crooks using his
pic-tures.
And sexy shots online only make
some copycat accounts more intriguing.
Sorry to be blunt, but is a guy whose
buff photos are highlighted on social
media going to be looking for love on
Facebook? Really?
Ernsting retired early from a job as a
sales executive in the hotel industry, but
then went to work as a model and
free-lance event manager.
The pandemic hurt the event
busi-ness, he says, but modeling is picking
up some.
He has built up more than 150,000
Instagram followers.
“There aren’t a lot of people my age
who are that active on Instagram,”
Ernsting said, attributing some of his
success to his demographic.
“I’m attractive enough to draw people
in, but I’m not threatening, so people
use my image to draw people in the
door.”
Scammers have been stealing his
im-age to create a variety of social media
accounts to use in romance frauds.
“I can’t believe my image is a
busi-ness for these people,” he said. “They’re
making a living off my image. They’re
probably making more than I ever have.”
The need to be physically distant to
avoid contracting COVID-19 during the
2020 has led to a spike in social media
scams, including romance scams.
Someone who is nice looking, maybe a
doctor, suddenly wants to be your friend
on Facebook.
Like any potential scam, it doesn’t
hurt to do more research on this
so-called profile. Google a person’s name,
just like you would a business, and the
word “scammer.”
You’d see that SocialCatfish.com, for
example, notes that Tom Ernsting has
one of the most catfished profiles in the
world.
“We estimated that millions of
dol-lars were stolen from fake profiles using
Tom’s images since there were so many
of them,” SocialCatfish.com said.
Scammers increasingly have been
stealing the photos of social media
in-fluencers to use in romance scams,
ac-cording to SocialCatfish.com.
The Federal Trade Commission notes
that you can also “do a reverse image
search of the person’s profile picture to
see if it’s associated with another name
or with details that don’t match up –
those are signs of a scam.”
And if someone is suddenly sending
you overly complimentary emails or
messages, be cautious.
“Paste the text into a search engine
and see whether the same words show
up on websites devoted to exposing
ro-mance scams,” according to an AARP tip
sheet on romance scams.
According to the FTC, $201 million
was lost due to romance scams in 2019,
which was a 40% increase from $143
million in 2018. And the numbers are
likely to be higher in 2020.
Retirees and older victims tend to
lose the most money – the median
indi-vidual loss associated with romance
scams for people age 70 and older was
about $10,000, compared with $2,600
for all victims based on 2018 data.
Love interests who are scammed may
be asked to send money repeatedly to
cover one emergency after another.
You never want to give money – or
gift cards – for any reason, no matter
how sincere the person may seem. Block
someone who keeps needing you to help
them out by sending them money.
The FTC has launched a website –
ReportFraud.ftc.gov – where
consum-ers can report a romance scam or other
scam whether they have lost money or
not.
As part of this new service, the
con-sumer also receives some advice on
what to do next when it comes to a
par-ticular problem.
Over the years, one sure sign of a
ro-mance scam is the inability of the new
love of your life to meet for drinks or
din-ner. Maybe the guy is working a
con-struction job overseas. Or he’s in the
military and cannot visit you.
During 2020, though, the pandemic
has given scammers a new excuse.
Your newfound online boyfriend or
girlfriend now can’t meet you because
they don’t want to get you sick or there is
limited travel where they are from due to
the pandemic, according to a report by
SocialCatfish.com.
And no, they can’t video chat either
because they reportedly have limited
access to a Wi-Fi network during the
coronavirus pandemic.
When the romantic rip-off artist
promises to meet you in person, be
pre-pared, because an excuse to cancel
al-ways comes up, according to an AARP
tip sheet on romance scams.
The real reason you’ll never meet is
because the scammers don’t look
any-thing like the picture online.
The scammers could be sitting in a
room overseas trying to pretend to be
the friendly guy or girl next door.
Ernsting says he believes romance
scams could be more common than
offi-cial reports indicate, based on what he’s
hearing from the women who contact
him and the stories they’re telling him
privately about how much money
they’ve lost.
Many do not want to admit publicly,
he said, exactly how much they gave
away or lost to romance scammers.
“They’re embarrassed – and their
husbands could find out,” he said.
Romance scams play off isolation
Mich. man’s photo stolen
for use in fraud schemes
Susan Tompor
Columnist USA TODAY
