MJ Capital Funding Receivership

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):

How much money has been recovered?
As of September 30, 2026, the receivership estate has a balance of approximately $8.2 million, and the MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund has a balance of approximately $21.3 million. These amounts will change as additional amounts are recovered, and expenses and fees are paid.

What is the status of the Receivership estate’s claims process and distribution plan?
The Receiver has issued over 6,200 checks to disburse 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.

The Plan and Supplemental Plan provided for initial Receivership Distribution checks for allowed claims on a pro rata basis using the Rising Tide methodology to bring holders of allowed claims to a 21.397% recovery level. 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. Over 3,683 holders of allowed claims received pre-Receivership disbursements of 21.397% or more of their investments and thus did not receive a payment under the Plan or Supplemental Plan. Please note that this section addresses the Receivership estate funds and claims filed with the Receiver only. The MJ Capital Wells Fargo settlement fund and additional claims 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 $21.3 million as of September 30, 2026. 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.

On October 22, 2026, the Court entered the Order Approving Settlement Fund Distribution Schedule and One Receivership Estate Distribution (the “Settlement Fund Distribution Order”) which approved the distributions for the MJ Capital Wells Fargo Settlement Fund set forth in Exhibit A to the Settlement Administrator’s Motion to Approve Settlement Fund Distribution Schedule and One Receivership Estate Distribution.  Please review the motion and order in detail. Provided that no timely appeal is filed, the Settlement Administrator anticipates she will begin to issue distributions in January 2027. No distributions will be issued until after the appeal period runs.

The Settlement Administrator recently sent an email notification to each participating settlement class member entitled to receive a distribution to provide the mailing address that the distribution check will be mailed to. In response, the Settlement Administrator received several hundreds of change of address forms. The Settlement Administrator is in the process of reviewing the change of address forms for participating settlement class members entitled to receive a distribution, and will advise of any deficiencies.

The Settlement Fund Distribution Order approved distributions to participating settlement class members who timely filed a claim with the Receiver or Settlement Administrator, and whose claim has been approved by the Receiver or Settlement Administrator, to reach a new recovery level of 39.1017%. The distributions total $20,499,969.39 and will result in payments to: (1) 75 participating settlement class members who received no pre-Receivership or Receivership disbursements, and are holders of allowed claims filed with the settlement fund, to bring those investors to the same level of recovery as those who received 39.1017% of their investments back during the Ponzi scheme, and (2) 8,127 participating settlement class members who received pre-Receivership disbursements and/or Receivership Distributions checks of between 0.002% and 39.00% of their investments to bring these investors up to the same 39.1017% level of recovery. There are 2,177 participating settlement class members with allowed claims who received pre-Receivership disbursements of more than 39.1017% of their investments and will not receive a distribution from the settlement fund.

To look up your claim number in the distribution schedule, download a copy of the motion. Exhibit A of the motion is the distribution schedule. Then use Ctrl + F on the keyboard to pull up the search bar, and type in your claim number in the search bar. Claim numbers are listed in the first column of the schedule. The distribution amounts are listed in the last column of the schedule (Column H titled “Proposed Distribution”). Additional updates regarding the status of the distributions 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.