By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

When the court-appointed receiver in the Al Parish fraud case first started planning the auction of the former economist’s belongings, certain high-end items—expensive pens, watches, vehicles and guitars—weren’t expected to be among the booty being sold Friday and Saturday at the North Charleston Convention Center.

However, as documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Charleston on Wednesday attest, significant pre-auction interest in those items has resulted in them being added to the list of assets that will go on the block beginning at 11 a.m. Friday.

In addition, the receiver has informed the court that it has also become evident that certain prospective buyers may be interested in acquiring “whole lots” of items; for instance, purchasing all of Parish’s watches in a single transaction.

“The receiver believes that it may be possible to sell ‘whole lots’ and other ‘high-end’ items at the auction and that for a variety of reasons, this would be in the interest on the receiver estate and its creditors, including investors,” wrote Charleston attorney David Popowski, who is working with court-appointed receiver Hays Financial Consulting and its lead attorney, J. David Dantzler.

As a result, the receiver and the auctioneer, Estate & Business Auctioneers of Charleston, have entered into an agreement related to private bid procedures for these items.

Under the agreement, the receiver will solicit private bids for some or all of the items prior to the start of the formal auction. In the event the receiver accepts any such private bid, such acceptance will be conditioned upon offering the subject lot or item for sale during the auction.

In the event that a higher purchase price is obtained as a result of the auction, then a 13% buyer’s premium will be charged on an amount equal to the difference between the private bid and the purchase price obtained.

In the event no higher bid is obtained, the private bid will be accepted and no buyer’s premium will be charged.

Also, in the event the receiver accepts a pre-auction “whole lot” bid, individual items comprising that lot will not be subject to individual auction bidding.

Among the criteria that will be considered in deciding whether to accept a private bid or purchase proposal for a whole lot of high end item are:

• The amount paid by Parish in purchasing the asset.
• Any prior appraisal of the asset.
• Any formal or informal indication of the value of the asset provided by someone competent to render such an opinion.
• The current market price of similar assets.
• The time that would be required to deal with sales agents or auction houses versus the prospects of a quick sale and net recovery to the receivership estate.

Auction items will be available for inspection by the public at the following times from 1-7 p.m. Thursday and from 9-11 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Bidders will also be able to register during these times.

The Friday and Saturday auction begins at 11 a.m. and concludes at 6 p.m. both days. Only registered bidders will be authorized to submit bids. A 13% “buyer’s premium” will be added to each successful bid price; however, this will be reduced to 10% for cash purchases. Purchased items will be available for pick-up during the auction and from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday.

A daily admission fee of $5 will be charged for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition, a non-refundable $20 fee will be charged to register as a bidder, but this fee will be applied to any purchases.

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