Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Colangelo

CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 19, 2025
Docket23-07036
StatusUnknown

This text of Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Colangelo (Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Colangelo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Colangelo, (N.Y. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK -------------------------------------------------------------x In re: Chapter 7 JAANA COLANGELO, Case No. 23-22355 (KYP) Debtor. -------------------------------------------------------------x BUSINESS FINLAND USA, INC.,

Plaintiff,

-against- Adv. Pro. No. 23-07036 (KYP)

JAANA COLANGELO,

Defendant. -------------------------------------------------------------x

MEMORANDUM DECISION GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

APPEARANCES:

KIRBY AISNER & CURLEY LLP Co-Counsel for Business Finland USA, Inc. 700 Post Road, Suite 237 Scarsdale, NY 10583 By: Julie Cvek Curley, Esq. Of Counsel

CERMELE & WOOD, LLP Co-Counsel for Business Finland USA, Inc. 2 Westchester Park Drive, Suite 110 White Plains, NY 10604 By: Michael R. Wood, Esq. Of Counsel

JAANA COLANGELO Pro Se Defendant HONORABLE KYU YOUNG PAEK UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Business Finland USA, Inc. (“Business Finland”) commenced this adversary proceeding against Debtor-Defendant Jaana Colangelo (“Debtor”) seeking a finding that debts owed to Business Finland are excepted from discharge pursuant to section 523(a)(2), (4), and (6) of the Bankruptcy Code. Business Finland now moves for summary judgment on its claims (“Motion”),1 and the Debtor, proceeding pro se, objects to the Motion.2 For the reasons stated, the Motion is GRANTED, and the Business Finland Claim (defined infra) is excepted from discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A). JURISDICTION This Court has jurisdiction over the Motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334 and the Amended Standing Order of Reference (M-431), dated January 31, 2012 (Preska, C.J.) referring bankruptcy cases and proceedings to the Bankruptcy Judges of the Southern District of New York. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(I).

1 See Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, dated Oct. 3, 2024 (“Business Finland Brief”) (ECF Doc. # 16); Plaintiff’s Statement of Undisputed Facts Pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 7056 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, dated Oct. 2, 2024 (“Plaintiff Fact Statement”) (ECF Doc. # 15); and Plaintiff’s Reply Memorandum of Law in Further Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, dated Jan. 9, 2025 (“Business Finland Reply”) (ECF Doc. # 28). “ECF Doc. # _” refers to documents filed on the electronic docket of this adversary proceeding. “ECF Main Case Doc. # _” refers to documents filed on the electronic docket of the Debtor’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. “ECF p. _” refers to the page number imprinted across the top of the page by the Court’s electronic filing system. 2 See Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment, dated Dec. 16, 2024 (“Debtor Brief”) (ECF Doc. # 27). BACKGROUND A. The State Court Action On June 20, 2018, Business Finland commenced an action against the Debtor in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Westchester (“State Court”) styled Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Jaana Bernadotte-Colangelo, et al., Index No.

59629/2018 (“State Court Action”). (Plaintiff Fact Statement, Ex. A (docket of the State Court Action).) Business Finland’s complaint contained the following five causes of action: (i) faithless servant (“Faithless Servant Claim”), (ii) fraud, (iii) conversion, (iv) breach of fiduciary duty, and (v) imposition of a constructive trust (“Constructive Trust Claim”) on real property owned by the Debtor and her spouse located at 66 Wilson Drive, New Rochelle, New York 10801 (“New Rochelle Residence”). (Id., Ex. B (amended complaint in the State Court Action).) On June 1, 2020, Business Finland filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the Faithless Servant Claim and the Constructive Trust Claim, (id., Ex. A at docket entries 162-253), and the Debtor, through counsel, filed opposition on July 31, 2020. (Id., Ex. A at docket entries 255-306.) The State Court granted Business Finland’s

motion by decision and order issued on December 21, 2020 (“State Court Decision”).3 Based on the evidence provided by the parties, the State Court set forth the facts leading to the filing of the State Court Action, and a summary of the findings follows. Business Finland was established in 2006 by the Finnish Foreign Trade Association and is wholly owned by a subsidiary of the Finnish government. (State Court Decision at 3.) The Debtor was employed to provide administrative support to

3 A copy of the State Court Decision is attached to the Plaintiff Fact Statement as Exhibit G. Business Finland’s New York and Connecticut offices. (Id.) The Debtor opened a bank account at Chase Bank for Business Finland (“Chase Bank Account”) and was an authorized signatory. (Id.) Business Finland received funding from the Finnish government to meet payroll and pay operational expenses. (Id.) Based on financial information prepared by a

Finnish government subsidiary, Business Finland would estimate its funding needs for a two- or three-month period and request that amount from the subsidiary. (Id.) The Debtor was responsible for making these requests. (Id.) Business Finland “entrusted [the Debtor] to handle its funding requests and disbursements and therefore, she had full access to [the Chase Bank Account].” (Id.; see also id. at 4 (“[The Debtor] was expected to handle [Business Finland’s] funding requests and disbursements as a key part of her job.”).) From time to time, Business Finland’s parent company requested Chase Bank Account statements to audit Business Finland’s use of disbursed funds. (Id. at 4.) Providing this documentation to the parent company was the Debtor’s responsibility. (Id.) Rather than sending true and accurate copies of Chase Bank Account statements,

the Debtor “created and sent fraudulent bank statements that hid her theft of [Business Finland’s] assets.” (Id.) By providing falsified bank records in response to the audit requests, the Debtor hid (i) transfers from the Chase Bank Account to pay the Debtor’s American Express credit card bills, (ii) transfers from the Chase Bank Account to the Debtor’s personal bank account, (iii) transfers from the Chase Bank Account to an entity owned by the Debtor’s spouse called Black Labrador, and (iv) cash withdrawals from the Chase Bank Account. (Id. at 4; see also id. at 5 (describing examples of funds flowing from the Chase Bank Account to pay for the Debtor’s expenses).) From 2011 through 2017, the Debtor misappropriated over $4 million from Business Finland. (Id. at 4.) The Debtor used the funds from the Chase Bank Account to, among other things: • fund a family vacation to southern France costing over $100,000; • cover country club membership fees; • purchase jewelry; and • pay for extensive renovations and repairs to the Debtor’s home costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Id. at 4-5.) As an example of the Debtor’s conduct in falsifying bank records, the State Court analyzed the June 2015 Chase Bank Account statement submitted by the Debtor to the parent company. (Id.

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Business Finland USA, Inc. v. Colangelo, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/business-finland-usa-inc-v-colangelo-nysb-2025.