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Holland & Knight Files Motion to Dismiss GWG Trustee’s Fraud Suit

This week, the law firm Holland & Knight and its partner Bill Banowsky asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur to dismiss a bankruptcy trustee’s fraud lawsuit against them for failure to state a claim. 

In the 165-page motion filed Monday, the firm told the court the “threadbare complaint should be dismissed.” On Feb. 28, Michael I. Goldberg, the trustee appointed to recover funds for creditors in the GWG Holdings bankruptcy case, filed a 157-page complaint against the firm and Banowsky, seeking to recover nearly $150 million for the “knowing participation in a fraudulent looting scheme and associated criminal enterprise” that included Dallas-based financial services firm Beneficient and its founder and CEO Bradley Heppner. GWG is a Dallas-based financial services firm that sells bonds backed by life insurance policies. It filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in April 2022. 

Michelle Casady

Michelle Casady is based in Houston and covers litigation and appeals — including trials, breaking news and industry trends — for The Texas Lawbook.

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