D
aryl Heller, a Lancaster County entrepreneur, claimed to own luxury properties and businesses worth over $310 million in his 2023 personal financial statement. However, his lawyer now says he has no ownership stakes in most of these entities. The properties include a dozen mobile homes, hundreds of acres of farmland, and an active gas drilling well pad, valued at over $4 million. Most of the properties are owned by business entities Heller originally registered, but it's unclear who owns them now.

    Heller's financial statement listed 34 operating entities under Heller Capital Group LLC, including Paramount Management Group, which oversaw the collapsed ATM investment network. He also claimed ownership in Brookfield Properties, DHQM, and Accordo, among others. However, his lawyer says he only owned a small percentage of these companies and transferred his shares to family members or sold them off before getting into legal trouble.

    A judge has appointed an examiner to scour Heller's business records and write reports, raising the possibility that a trustee could be appointed to recover as much money as possible for creditors. Legal experts say this is an unusual move in bankruptcy cases, which usually involve reorganizing businesses rather than personal finances.

    Heller's lawyer says he owns neither Brookfield Properties nor Brookfield Lodge, despite his financial statement listing them as assets worth over $1 million. Similarly, she claims Heller only owned a small percentage of DHQM and transferred it to Accordo in 2014. However, records show that Heller requested money from DHQM just months before filing for bankruptcy.

    Accordo Limited Partnership, which owns 380 acres of land in New York, is another entity listed as one of Heller's assets. His lawyer says he only owned 1% of Accordo and transferred his stake to family members in early 2024. However, records show that Heller signed an oil and gas lease on an Accordo property just months later.

    If a trustee is appointed, it could signal a new phase of the bankruptcy case, with the trustee potentially going after Heller personally for assets he may have hidden or transferred. The trustee could also use legal concepts like "veil piercing" to treat Heller's dozens of corporations as one entity and recover more assets for creditors.