After recent Allen/Cox convictions where do Ferrum victims now stand on getting back their money?

Tuesday’s guilty verdict against Joshua Allen and Michael Cox gave victims of Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital joy and relief. But it doesn’t answer the question of how much money can the victims get back?

“I was ecstatic. I was so happy that they were convicted because they know what they did,” said one of the Ferrum victims, Karen Aguilar of Helotes.

“They knew the impact it would make on people and they just disregarded everybody because of their greediness,” Aguilar added.

Her attorney, Matthew King of San Antonio, said his reaction to the guilty verdicts was “Pleasure, satisfaction!”

“Obviously it doesn’t get anyone’s money back,” King said.

But it’s a step in the direction of “fair punishment,” he said.

Shari Pulman, a San Antonio attorney, who attended some of the trial, said, “I was thrilled – thrilled because justice was served and thrilled because this whole thing took such an emotional toll on my clients.”

She’s just one of the many attorneys working on behalf of Ferrum victims in multiple courts.

“This gives them hopefully some sense of vindication – they’re not vindictive people – but some sense of closure that the right thing happened,” Pulman said.

Ed Price from Lubbock is another attorney working for the victims.

“I was not surprised. I thought this was going to be a conviction from ‘day one’ once we got through all the material and saw what they’d done,” Price said.

Remarkable misunderstanding

Allen and Cox were convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud. Prosecutors said they used Ferrum Capital and related companies as a Ponzi scheme – taking nearly $67 million from people mostly in the Lubbock and San Antonio areas. They’ll be sentenced at a later date to no more than 70 years in prison.

Their defense strategy at trial was “interesting” but not effective, Price said.

Allen’s defense team said every penny that was supposed to go to another company (Collins Asset Group) got there. Cox’s defense was that he was a good guy who would never intentionally hurt other people.

“I believe that they were convinced of Josh Allen’s guilt just immediately. I think the defense that Michael Cox put on might have given them pause to discuss it a little bit for him. But in the end, they saw the truth and they did the right thing,” Price said.

The defense strategies showed a “remarkable misunderstanding,” he said.

“As financial advisors, they are supposed to take the best interest of the folks they represent to heart and make investments that are good for those people – not good for Josh Allen and Michael Cox. They didn’t do that,” Price said.

Aguilar said the same thing of Allen and Cox’s codefendant Brooklynn Willy, who pleaded guilty this year. Willy will be sentenced at a later date.

“Brooklynn took just about everything I had,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar had to unretire and go back to work. The contract on her current job is up.

“I still suffer the consequences of what she’s done. I’m having to live a very simple life because who wants to hire somebody that’s 70 years old now, you know?”

‘Dig up every dime’

Price said if Allen and Cox want any grace at sentencing from Fred Biery, U.S. District Court judge, they need to cooperate with the recovery effort.

“They said they wanted a trial, and they got it,” Price said, also pointing out that certain developments in the trial seemed to offend and upset the judge.

LubbockLights.com covered the verdict here.

His advice is this: “Come forward and say, ‘Look, we can come up with $20 million or whatever it is that they can dig up. … They need to dig up every dime they can and voluntarily surrender to the court as restitution. If they got offshore bank accounts, if they got a stash somewhere, selling their houses, I don’t know – but they need to do anything they can to convince that judge that they’re sorry and they want to make amends.”

LubbockLights.com asked Aguilar how much of her $450,000 she might get back.

“I have no idea. Nobody’s given me any figures on anything,” Aguilar said.

Before Ferrum defaulted, she said she got back $86,000 – adding, “It’s very disheartening. I busted my behind at work for 31 years, and this is what I get in return?”