VEA ESTA PÁGINA EN ESPAÑOL
GADE PAJ SA A AN KREYOL
INVESTORS:
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has appointed Bernice Lee as the Receiver over MJ Capital Funding, LLC, MJ Taxes and More, Inc., Pavel Ruiz MJCF LLC and UDM Remodeling, LLC (collectively, the “Receivership Entities”) in Case No. 21-61644-CIV-SINGHAL filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Johanna M. Garcia, MJ Capital Funding, LLC and MJ Taxes and More, Inc. The SEC’s Complaint alleges that Johanna M. Garcia used the defendant companies to perpetrate a Ponzi scheme by tricking investors into thinking they were funding loans to small businesses when in reality their “returns” were funded with money obtained from new investors. Links to the Complaint, Order appointing the Receiver, and other court documents are available under the “Court Documents” section on this page. The Receiver has been directed to take exclusive jurisdiction and possession of all assets of the Receivership Entities, and to exercise all powers of the officers, directors, managers and general and limited partners of the Receivership Entities, among other things. The Receiver has been engaged in the process of identifying and securing the Receivership Entities’ assets, investigating their operations and financial affairs, and identify the nature and scope of claims to be administered through this receivership proceeding.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):
How much money has been recovered?
As of December 31, 2025, the receivership estate has a balance of approximately $9 million, and the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund has a balance of approximately $21.2 million. These amounts will change as investors continue to deposit initial distribution checks from the receivership estate, expenses and fees are paid, and additional amounts are recovered.
What is the status of the Receivership estate’s claims process and distribution plan?
The Receiver has issued over 6,200 checks to disbursed over $11.8 million to investors with allowed claims pursuant to the Court’s Order Granting Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions (the “Distribution Order”) that granted the Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions (the “Plan”), and the Court’s Order Granting Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Updated Rising Tide Distribution Schedule and Supplemental Distributions (the “Supplemental Plan”) that granted the Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Updated Rising Tide Distribution Schedule and Supplemental Distributions. There are a small handful of initial distribution checks that have not been issued because the holders of the allowed claims did not provide mailing addresses in the proof of claim forms, or have not corrected deficiencies in their change of address forms. If you submitted a change of address form for an allowed claim that is not entitled to receive an initial distribution check under the Plan or Supplemental Plan, or after you received your initial distribution check, the Receiver will review your submission at a later date and advise of any deficiencies.
The Plan and Supplemental Plan provided for initial payments for allowed claims on a pro rata basis using the Rising Tide methodology. Holders of allowed claims can look up the proposed initial distribution for their claim in Exhibit A by using their claim number. If you are a holder of an allowed claim and received no pre-Receivership disbursement, the initial distribution payment provided a 21.397% recovery of your investment amount. If you are a holder of an allowed claim and received disbursements of between 0.2% and 21.33% of your investment pre-Receivership, the initial distribution payment brought you up to the same 21.397% level of recovery. For example, if you invested $2,000 and received $200 in pre-Receivership disbursement, the $200 you received provided a 10% recovery of your investment, and the initial distribution payment of $227.94 brought you up to the 21.397% recovery level. There are over 3,683 holders of allowed claims who received pre-Receivership disbursements of 21.397% or more of their investments who did not receive a payment under the Plan or Supplemental Plan. The Receiver anticipates that many of the holders of allowed claims (but not all), including the claimants who received 21.397% or more of their investments, will receive a future distribution from the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund which is discussed below.
Please note that the foregoing addresses the Receivership estate funds and claims filed with the Receiver only. The MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund and additional claims filed are discussed next.
What is the status of the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund’s claims process and distributions?
The Receiver serves as the Settlement Administrator for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund. The settlement fund has approximately $21.2 million as of December 31, 2025. These funds are in addition to the funds in the receivership estate. Investors who did not file a proof of claim with the Receiver by the July 19, 2022 claims bar date were permitted to submit a claim to the Settlement Administrator by June 9, 2023 to request to participate in the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement. Investors who previously submitted a proof of claim to the Receiver by the July 19, 2022 deadline did not need to submit an additional claim to request to participate in the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement. A copy of the agreement, which includes the claims review and distribution procedures, can be viewed at www.mjcapitalclasssettlement.com under the Case Documents section.
Over 1,100 claim forms asserting a total of over $26 million were submitted to the Settlement Administrator under the additional claims process provided for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund. The Settlement Administrator has reviewed all additional claims and issued about 840 rejection notices to disallow over $19.8 million in asserted claim, which would reduce the total amount of additional claims to less than $6.3 million. The rejection notices were issued for claims subject to disallowance in whole or in part, including but not limited to: (a) claims that are duplicative of allowed claims filed with the Receiver, (b) claims that are duplicative of claims rejected by the Receiver, (c) claims filed by claimants who received payments from the MJ Capital in excess of the amount of their principal investment, and (d) claims that fail to provide a copy of an investor agreement or any bank records in support of their claim.
Investors who receive rejection notices have an opportunity to submit reconsideration letters. The Settlement Administrator will review the reconsideration letters and issue final determination notices. The MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund claims process is set forth in the settlement agreement, and available on the MJ Capital Class Settlement Website (www.mjcapitalclasssettlement.com/case-documents.aspx). Once the entire claims process is completed and the Settlement Administrator has a complete schedule of additional claims with allowed amounts, the Settlement Administrator and her accountants will prepare the distribution schedule for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund, which will address both allowed claims filed with the Receiver and allowed additional claims filed with the Settlement Administrator. Additional updates regarding when the schedule of additional claims will be complete and when the distribution schedule will be prepared will be provided on this webpage.
What is the status of Johanna Garcia’s criminal case?
Johanna Garcia was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment in October 2024 in Case No. 23-20350 by U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez. The United States of America filed an Indictment against Johanna Garcia with 29 counts for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and for Forfeiture. Johanna Garcia pled guilty to Count 1. On March 5, 2025, the government filed a Restitution Stipulation in which the parties agreed that Garcia should be held liable for $65,802,500. Johanna Garcia appealed the 240-month sentence. On March 17, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eleventh Circuit issued its decision affirming the District Court’s 240-month sentence. You can review the decision on the Court Documents page.
Will the brokers be investigated?
The Receiver has filed lawsuits against certain Board Members and over 125 promoters, which is further described in the Receiver’s interim reports available on the Court Documents page. Securities violation investigations are conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC has filed cases against Johanna Garcia, Pavel Ruiz, Christian Gonzalez, Nathalia Burgos, Christian Cuesta, Steven Fernandez and Monica O’Mealia, Erick M. Ruiz, Marco A. Rosas, Bryant Guayara, Karina N. Fernandez and Leonela M. Duarte. Criminal charges are investigated and brought by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys Office. The U.S. Attorney has filed criminal actions against Johanna Garcia, Pavel Ruiz, and Christian Gonzalez.
Should I hire an attorney?
You have a right to be represented in this matter, however, we are unable to provide you legal advice.
LATEST UPDATES
- 3/19/2026 The Receiver serves as the Settlement Administrator for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund. The Settlement Administrator has reviewed all additional claims filed with the Wells Fargo settlement fund, and issued approximately 840 rejection notices for claims that are subject to disallowance in whole or in part, including but not limited to: (a) claims that are duplicative of allowed claims filed with the Receiver, (b) claims that are duplicative of claims rejected by the Receiver, (c) claims filed by claimants who received payments from the MJ Capital in excess of the amount of their principal investment, and (d) claims that fail to provide a copy of an investor agreement or any bank records in support of their claim. Over 1,100 additional claims were filed asserting over $26 million dollars invested. The 840 rejection notices disallow over $19.8 million dollars in asserted claim and would reduce the total amount of additional claims to less than $6.3 million dollars. Investors who receive rejection notices have an opportunity to submit reconsideration letters. The Settlement Administrator will review the reconsideration letters and issue final determination notices. The MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund claims process is set forth in the settlement agreement, and available on the MJ Capital Class Settlement Website (link). Once the entire claims process is completed and the Settlement Administrator has a complete schedule of additional claims with allowed amounts, the Settlement Administrator and her accountants will prepare the distribution schedule for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund, which will address both allowed claims filed with the Receiver and allowed additional claims filed with the Settlement Administrator. Additional updates regarding when the schedule of additional claims will be complete and when the distribution schedule will be prepared will be provided on this webpage.
- 3/17/2026 On March 17, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eleventh Circuit issued its decision affirming the District Court’s 240-month sentence for Johanna Garcia. You can review the decision on the Court Documents page.
- 1/30/26 Receiver’s Eighteenth Interim Report
- 12/04/25 The Court entered the Order Granting Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Updated Rising Tide Distribution Schedule and Supplemental Distributions, which approved initial distributions for allowed claims that were previously disputed claims, and three additional categories of allowed claims. The Receiver anticipates that the initial distribution checks will be mailed in early February 2026. In the event there is an appeal of the order, the timing of the distribution may be delayed. Updates regarding any appeal, and the date of the issuance of the payments will be provided on this website.
- 11/24/2025 The Receiver has filed the Motion for Approval of Updated Rising Tide Distribution Schedule and Supplemental Distributions to address the Disputed Claims and three additional categories of allowed claims. You will need your claim number to look up your claim in the updated rising tide distribution schedule attached as Exhibit A.
- 10/30/25 Receiver’s Seventeenth Interim Report
- 10/08/25 The Receiver’s team has issued nearly all initial distribution checks to holders of allowed claims entitled to receive a payment under the schedule attached as Exhibit A to the Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions that was approved by the Court’s Order Granting Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions. The Receiver’s team has been focused on processing hundreds of change of address forms for holders of allowed claims who are entitled to receive initial distribution checks under the Plan, and addressing several requests from investors regarding issues relating to their initial distribution checks. There are a small handful of initial distribution checks that have not been issued because the holders of the allowed claims did not provide mailing addresses in the proof of claim forms, or have not submitted proper change of address forms and have not corrected the deficiencies noted by the Receiver’s team. If you submitted a change of address form for an allowed claim that is not entitled to receive an initial distribution check under the Plan, the Receiver will review your submission at a later date and advise if it is deficient. The next distribution will be from the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund. The Receiver serves as the Settlement Administrator for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund. The Settlement Administrator is in the process of reviewing and reconciling the additional claims filed with the Wells Fargo settlement fund. Once the review and reconciliation process is complete, the Settlement Administrator and her accountants can prepare the distribution schedule. Periodic updates on the claims reconciliation process and distribution schedule will be provided on this website. Please review the FAQs Section.
- 7/30/25 Receiver’s Sixteenth Interim Report
- 7/29/25 During the month of July 2025, the Receiver issued more than 5,200 initial distribution checks to holders of allowed claims entitled to receive a distribution under the Order Granting Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions that approved the distributions set forth in the schedule attached as Exhibit A to the Receiver’s Motion for Approval of Distribution Plan and Initial Distributions. On June 27, 2025, the Receiver sent an email notification to all investors entitled to receive an initial distribution (and who had not already submitted a change of address form to the Receiver) that provided their claim number, the mailing address used in their proof of claim form where the Receiver will mail the initial distribution check, and a change of address form with instructions on how to properly complete the form and a deadline of July 7, 2025 to submit such form. On July 21, 2025, the Receiver sent a follow-up email notification to over 3,350 investors, whose initial distribution checks would be issued by the Receiver later that week. In response, investors submitted more than 850 change of address forms. The Receiver is in the process of reviewing the change of address forms. She will be: (a) issuing initial distribution checks to holders of allowed claims entitled to receive a distribution who submitted a properly completed change of address form, and (b) sending follow-up emails to investors who submitted a deficient change of address form. Please review the FAQs Section on this webpage for additional information and updates regarding the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund.
