Dive Brief:
- Mountain Express Oil’s bankruptcy trustee has reached a settlement with former co-CEO Lamar Frady over his alleged misconduct while leading the defunct retailer, according to a Nov. 11 status report filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
- Under the agreement, which the court approved Nov. 2, Frady must pay the trustee $1.7 million by Nov. 23, after which all claims against him and his associated entities will be dismissed. Frady denies any wrongdoing, according to the filing.
- Claims against Frady’s former co-CEO, Turjo Wadud, remain open. The trustee has not engaged in settlement discussions with Wadud for months, according to the filing.
Dive Insight:
Frady’s settlement marks a significant development in Mountain Express’ bankruptcy and the retailer’s abrupt demise more than three years ago. The company’s collapse was followed by allegations that Frady and Wadud siphoned millions of dollars from the business for personal gain.
Frady’s settlement agreement comes about five months after Georgia litigators appointed a judge to oversee mediation aimed at resolving the lawsuits against Frady and Wadud before going to trial. At that time, the judge and the parties could not reach an agreement, although conversations with Frady continued.
Once the payment is made, the trustee’s claims against Frady will be resolved. However, the settlement allows litigation to resume if, within two years, he is found to have knowingly or recklessly made material misrepresentations or omissions during his court declarations.
The settlement also dismisses claims against Frady’s wife, Rita Frady, and several of Frady’s affiliated entities, including Time & Water, 4Court Holdings and Adelphi Transport. The trustee had alleged that Frady and Wadud used these and other entities to illegally take millions from Mountain Express.
Counsel for Frady and the bankruptcy trustee did not respond by press time to comment on the settlement.
The $1.7 million settlement is considerably less than the amounts the trustee alleged the executives diverted. In March 2025, Frady, Wadud and Mountain Express founder Barry Bierenbaum were summoned to a jury trial over the alleged misconduct. The trustee accused Frady and Wadud of siphoning a combined $15 million and Birenbaum of taking more than $130 million, mainly from selling his stake in the company to Wadud and Frady in 2020.
As with Wadud, claims against Bierenbaum remain unresolved.
