Nov. 10, 2026, 5:12 a.m. ET
Erie entrepreneur Samuel P. “Pat” Black III is selling his Hero BX biofuels facilities to pay off a personally guaranteed loan.A court-appointed receiver has sold three of the five facilities, but the proceeds have not been enough to cover the growing debt.Black, 84, is also still involved in separate litigation, including a lawsuit against his adopted daughter and a competency case.
Erie entrepreneur Samuel P. “Pat” Black III broke ground in 2006 for the Hero BX plant on East Lake Road, which became the center of his biofuels empire.
The phrase “fuel for humanity” was incorporated into the Hero BX logo.
Twenty years later, Black is selling his biofuels facilities to fuel a court-approved financial plan to help pay off a personally guaranteed loan of about $13.5 million.
But even as Black’s Lake Erie Biofuels, which does business as Hero BX, unloads more of the facilities, the debt has continued to grow, according to the latest court filing related to the collapse of the 84-year-old Black’s financial holdings.
A failure to satisfy the $13.5 million debt would put Black’s personal assets at risk.
Black has blamed much of his financial decline on his daughter, Sumi James-Black, 51, whom he adopted in 2019, when he was 77 and she was 44. But Black’s $200 million federal lawsuit against her has stalled as he awaits a ruling from a federal appeals court.
Black’s forced sale of his Hero BX facilities is the result of another federal lawsuit. Connecticut-based Siena Lending Group sued in federal court in Erie in May 2025 after Black’s Hero BX-related companies defaulted on a 2021 loan with Siena that originally totaled $58.2 million.
Black’s companies owed Siena $6.1 million as of May 2025, but that amount has grown to about $13.5 million. Black personally guaranteed the loan with Siena, according to court records.
Receiver takes control of properties
Black lost control of the Hero BX facilities in June 2025. At Siena’s request, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter appointed a receiver to sell the Hero BX facilities with the proceeds used to help pay off the Siena loan.
The latest court filing in the receivership case, docketed Oct. 27, shows that Lake Erie Biofuels has sold three of its five biofuels facilities for a total of about $1.1 million. About $832,000 of that went to Siena.
Lots of lawsuits: Appeal adds to barrage of litigation tied to Erie entrepreneur Black
The receiver, Pittsburgh-based Compass Advisory Partners, is marketing the remaining Hero BX properties for sale, including its flagship facility, the Hero BX plant on East Lake Road. Compass said in the Oct. 27 filing that it expects to seek court approval to sell the remaining two properties in November.
“At this time,” according to the filing, “it is not anticipated that either sale will yield funds sufficient to satisfy all secured debt.”
Siena’s loan balance was $13.5 million as of Oct. 8, according to the filing. The balance has increased due to interest and expenses Siena has incurred to maintain the properties during the receivership, the filing states. The property expenses can be as high as $350,000 per month in the winter, according to the filing.
Three properties sold and two on market
Black’s Hero BX facilities stopped operating at the end of 2024 with the expiration of government biofuels subsidies, according to court records. The shutdown reduced the value of the facilities and made satisfying the Siena loan more difficult.
Another sale related to Black: National Fuel clears way for expansion with $3.35 million purchase
These are the three Hero BX facilities that have been sold, according to the Oct. 27 filing:
A bioheat blending and distribution terminal in North Hampton, New Hampshire. It sold for $450,000 on July 24 to North Hampton Renewable Wholesale LLC, of New Hampshire. The net proceeds were $432,400 after closing costs and taxes.A biofuels plant in Clinton, Iowa. It sold at auction for $522,500 on June 11 and the sale was finalized Aug. 7 to 3xcharm LLC. The net proceeds were $346,634 after closing costs, taxes and auctioneer costs.A biofuels plant in South Rozana, Illinois. It sold at auction for $130,105 on June 11 and the sale was finalized July 16 to Michael E. Lipowsky. The net proceeds were $53,224 after closing costs, taxes and auctioneer costs.
The two unsold Hero BX facilities are:
The Hero BX plant on East Lake Road. Black once valued the facility at $70 million.A biofuels plant in Moundville, Alabama.Other litigation pits Black against daughter
As sales of the two remaining biofuels plants play out, Black continues to pursue his federal lawsuit against James-Black, his adopted daughter. Judge Baxter dismissed the suit’s federal claims in February. Black appealed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, where the case is pending.
Also pending is James-Black’s petition to have Black adjudicated a mentally incapacitated person and to have a guardian appointed to manage his affairs. Her lawyer, John Mizner, filed the petition in October 2025 in the Orphans’ Court Division of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas.
In March, Black agreed to undergo a neurological exam. The results of the exam have not been disclosed in court records and the case remains open.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813.