Joplin businessman responds to $3.5 million fraud lawsuit

(Note: Steve Vanderbol, managing director of Joplin-based Zfere Holdings, issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit filed this week in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri by Artem Borisanov.)

Through Mr. Turner I am in receipt of a copy of the alleged lawsuit. 

Upon review I am able to state that we are unable to verify Mr. Borisnov’s allegations of his financial contributions. Mr. Borisnov names two parties within his suit that were former officers of subsidiary companies within Zfere Holdings investment portfolio. Both of those parties as well as two others were dismissed due to revelations that they conspired to embezzle company funds to the amount of $500,00 USD. Both parties knowingly distributed funds to unauthorized banks, accounts and parties on or about February 22nd 2015. 

In Mr. Borisnov’s allegations he plainly states meeting with one of those parties repeatedly and conveys that that party made several statements and assurances which were not then nor are they now authorized by the officers, directors or shareholders of Zfere Holdings Inc to be made. 

Mr. Borisnov through his counsel alleges that the parties named within the suit conspired to defraud and “bait and switch” investments through the same parties who later committed acts of embezzlement. Those allegations are completely false. At no time did any member listed as a defendant within the suit make any statement, inflection, or create any document designed to defraud or misrepresent the activities of the holding company or its project offerings. 

Mr. Borisnov cites investment amounts in 2014 which are highly suspect. Most visible to me personally is one dated August 22nd, 2014 as I am personally knowledgeable that no authorized capital raise activity was underway at that time and no further activity occurred through 2014 as on August 24th, 2014 I fell victim to a hemmoraghic stroke as previously stated to Mr. Turner.

To be concise and direct, no party listed within the suit as a defendant attempted to defraud any investor and at no time did the same parties engage in any schemes as alleged by Mr. Borisnov. 

Factually, Mr. Walker and Mr. Boyer to the best of my knowledge did not have any communication directly or indirectly with Mr. Borisnov within the alleged period. I do recall meeting Mr. Borisnov on two occasions in Moscow but at no time did I make any of the statements conveyed within his complaint and at best, I attempted to answer his questions regarding politics, technology, the “cloud” in general and how Zfere Holdings intended to continue to move investment projects forward into viable, operating companies. 

It is apparent that Mr. Borisnov, has actively failed to attempt to contact any party related to any investment (if any) he participated within and is seeking to find extra-judicial relief by making frivolous, vague, and outlandish accusations.

Steve Vanderbol
Managing Director,
Zfere Holdings Inc.