On May 12, 2021, the Office of the United States Trustee appointed Al Togut of Togut, Segal & Segal LLP as the the Chapter 7 trustee for Kossoff PLLC, a real estate law firm that was forced into an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding after the firm and its founder were named in several lawsuits alleging fraud and misappropriation of millions of dollars of client escrow funds. Among other things, the case involves the alleged disappearance of Mitchell Kossoff, the firm’s founder and a high profile real estate lawyer who had represented many of Manhattan’s largest landlords.
Mr. Togut—who has deep experience with law firm bankruptcies, including the Finley Kumble, Shea & Gould, Bower & Gardner, and Dewey & LeBoeuf cases—intends to use his powers as Chapter 7 trustee to gather information, locate and liquidate assets, prosecute claims and causes of action, and ultimately make distributions to creditors.
More information about the Kossoff PLLC case can be found here, here, and here.