All Forum Posts by: Daniel Bell

Point of clarification. Apex South Creek DST is not a defendant in the Volcano lawsuit. It didn't borrow funds from or guarantee the loan.

More news. IBI Volcano Investments filed suit for collection in New York Superior Court. Volcano is the bridge lender in Apex South Creek DST who loaned Apex South Creek IB, LLC $42.0 million along with funding from the permanent lender to acquire Apex South Creek apartments. Crew Enterprises is the guarantor on the loan. The loan agreement called for Crew to sell initial beneficiary interests to investors with 90% of the sale proceeds going to Volcano to retire the bridge loan. That didn't happen. Crew sold $24.7 million out of $73.0 million offered to investors, but only paid Volcano about $10.0 million in principle, interest and fees. The big questions is-- what happen to the other $14.7 million?

There's more. Academy West defaulted on its $28.0 million loan on University Park apartments located on 1709 Shattuck in Berkely, CA. aka University Park DST.

The hits keep coming. Sunstone Development LLC, controlled by Wettengel and Muro, filed bankruptcy last week. According to media reports, Sunstone owns Academy West. Bankruptcy records indicate Crew Enterprises is one of Sunstones largest creditors.

Could there be more news like this in the week ahead?

Investors, I have additional information I can share from a reliable source. As some of you may know, several years ago, Blake Wettengel and Tanya Muro acquired Brian Nelson's controlling interest in his DST business. Wettengel and Muro changed the name several times and now operate under the name of Crew Enterprises in moves many suspected was nothing more than a ruse for growing poor management and financial problems. With both of those individuals at the top of the org chart, Crew's relationship with investors eroded, distributions were halted, and creditors began filing liens on our properties due to unpaid invoices.

Not only did Wettengel and Muro disappoint investors, but they also defaulted on the acquisition agreement with Nelson who subsequently sued to regain control of Crew Enterprises.  After a recent arbitration hearing it was stated to me that. 

"Brian Nelson as of two weeks ago has taken 65% ownership of Crew and Blake and Tanya only own 35%.  "Brian Nelson is now in control of all bank accounts, investors assets and is currently in the transition phase which will probably take about four weeks to complete. His goal is to do a complete audit on every bank account every asset to determine what assets are weak what assets are strong and do the things needed to fix the issues to get back to transparency with investors and normal distributions".

The message further stated,

"I would ask that your patience grow a little bit now that the good guy is back in the saddle. We need to allow for the transition to take place before we see improvements".

I have stated to my source that Crew and Nelson need to get out front on the messaging to calm investors because we all know in litigation the true winners are lawyers.  I'm sharing what I know so you can judge accordingly.   

Crew Investors, there is more news about Crew's management practices.  I ran a real property lien search on Apex South Creek in Orange County, FL and found that Crew or Book & Ladder is stiffing trade creditors.  HD Supply, a unit of Home Depot, filed a $20,949 lien against the property on September 9th, 2024, due to unpaid invoices. No release has yet been filed.  I sent a copy to Crew and instructed them get this taken care of, but they never replied, provided an explanation or paid the bill. The lien is accruing interest at 18% and when HD Supply gets around to pursue litigation for collection, attorney fees will be tacked on as well.  Those are costs charged against our assets, and we will pay sometime in the future.

There is more.  I ran a search on Astoria at Celebration in Osceola County, FL to see what would appear and sure enough, two more liens have been filed due to unpaid bills.  One of the liens is from a roofing contractor in the amount of $19,500.  The other lien is from a refrigeration parts, service and supply company in the amount of $5,894.

But don't take my word for it--see for yourself as liens are recorded as a matter of public record.  I would recommend others conduct similar real property searches on your invested property to see what might be there. Crew has suspended distributions to investors and now they are allowing liens to be filed against our properties because bills aren't getting paid.  If Crew has elected not to pay invoices due to legitimate business reasons such as quality of workmanship or similar disputes, then explain it here for all to see.  Don't just ignore the matter. 

We all know Crew is monitoring BiggerPockets and I hope they see this post.  Crew knows invoices are going unpaid and now they know we investors know as well.

What is Crew doing with all that cash that is accumulating?  Cash better not be diverted to other purposes.

Crew Enterprises is pursuing a strategy to move Apex South Creek DST into a REIT. Any guess who or what entities will benefit and who will be a loser?

Have you set up an account in BiggerPockets?  I understand you need to have an account to PM.

Calling all Apex South Creek DST investors with Crew Enterprises-Versity. If you invested in Apex South Creek DST with Crew Enterprises/Verstiy, please send me a PM to discuss matters of mutual interest. I posted this request on a similar forum but ask that you direct your inquiry on Apex to this post. Thank you.

Calling all Apex South Creek DST investors with Versity-Crew.

If you invested in the Apex South Creek DST sponsored by Versity-Crew Enterprises, please send me a PM to discuss certain matters of mutual interest.

Crew Enterprises has halted distributions on Apex South Creek DST located in Tampa.