An advertising brochure for a New Opportunities Inc. fund sought to ease investor concerns, assuring them that principals Terry A. Cleveland and James W. Hale had “never lost one cent of principal!!”
Cleveland — a certified public accountant who served as New Opportunities’ president — and Hale — a lawyer and company vice president — have “refused to explain” the staggering losses resulting from the company’s financial collapse, Uvalde bankruptcy trustee John Patrick “Pat” Lowe alleges in the lawsuit.
Thus far, 172 creditors — many of them retired and living on fixed incomes — have filed documents with the court saying the the debtors owe them more than a combined $31.5 million.
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Yet Cleveland and Hale told investors in a letter at the end of 2020 that New Opportunities had no more than $5.8 million in assets — leaving a shortfall of more than $25 million.
“The question is, where did the $25 million go? They’ve never answered that. I’ve asked them,” said Stephen A. Roberts, an Austin attorney representing 35 investors who collectively lost about $7.9 million.
Among his clients are principals of San Antonio’s Pape-Dawson Engineers. Its chief executive, Sam Dawson, allegedly lost about $1.9 million.
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