The U.S. Treasury Secretary is still looking recoup nearly $220,000 he lost to defunct private jet charter broker JetCard Plus.
In yet another lesson showing it doesn’t matter who you are, it pays to do proper research before you buy into a jet membership program; the check wasn’t in the mail.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin still hasn’t received the $219,623 judgment he won against JetCard Plus and its former CEO, Paul A. Svensen, Jr., last May in a Florida Court.
That’s according to court documents recently published by the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Now Mnuchin’s lawyers are targeting another private jet charter broker, Uber Jets, LLC, in hopes of getting back their client’s money.
Paul A. Svensen, Jr. was in leadership positions at two jet card brokers that failed. After JetNetwork’s bankruptcy more than a decade ago, his new vehicle became JetCard Plus.
JetCard Plus closed its doors last year after Bloomberg first reported Mnuchin’s judgment against it.
Then on Sept. 11, 2019, after a tip, Private Jet Card Comparisons published an investigative report linking JetCard Plus and Svensen, Jr. to Uber Jets, LLC.
Our report tied the private aviation executive’s son, Paul M. Svensen, to UberJets, LLC through a combination of social media and official business filings in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts.
A company representative told us, “Any claims you personally may make in your website’s article that UberJets is affiliated with any of the mentioned companies are baseless and simply not factual.”
Mnuchin’s lawyers apparently disagreed.
According to documents filed Jan. 15, 2020, with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, on Sept. 20, 2019, nine days after our article, Mnuchin served subpoenas on both Svensens at the Manhattan office for UberJets, LLC, which we identified.
“UberJets is owned by Paul M. Svensen, the son of JetCard’s founder and former executive Paul A. Svensen Jr.,” read the plea from Mnuchin filed in New York.
It continued, “Bank records obtained by STM (Mnuchin) show significant monetary transfers from JetCard to UberJets and Paul M. Svensen. STM has been unable to obtain any evidence showing that the transfers served legitimate business purposes.”
Mnuchin’s most recent filing in New York seeks records from UberJets LLC. It also seeks to have Svensen pere et fil deposed “because it will confirm whether or not the Third Parties are currently in possession of assets that rightfully belong to STM pursuant to the Final Judgment.”
A notice dated Feb. 4, 2020, from the judge gave 45 days to respond; however, no additional updates have been posted on the Court’s website. As of March 15, the Court is limiting its business only to essential activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lawyers for Mnuchin didn’t respond to our request for comment. The FlyUberJets.com remains active, selling memberships with claims to serve “top achievers in sports, business, and entertainment.”
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