Federal Trade Commission v. Life Management Services of Orange County, LLC, 6:16-cv-00982

FTC and Florida AG sued multiple defendants alleging a telemarketing/debt-relief fraud; court entered a TRO, asset freeze, and appointed a receiver (preliminary injunction later converted receiver to permanent).
Receiver alleges Robert Guice received funds traceable to defendants and that Guice owns a 55' yacht (Tuff Life II) purchased/refurbished with receivership-origin funds; Guice asserted the Fifth Amendment and does not admit wrongdoing.
Receiver contends the yacht is part of the receivership estate and faces ongoing maintenance/insurance/slip costs (~$1,500/month); asset freeze prevents Guice from paying those costs.
Receiver and Guice agreed, subject to court approval, to sell the yacht at a public absolute auction as-is, with a 10% buyer’s premium; auctioneer (Harris Auctions) to be engaged and paid specified fees and marketing reimbursement.
Proceeds would be paid to the Receiver for the estate; Guice would receive no proceeds. Receiver argues auction maximizes recovery and is faster/cheaper than court-ordered private sale procedures.
Magistrate recommends approving the sale agreement and authorizing the Receiver to sell the yacht at auction to conserve estate value and facilitate receivership duties.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the yacht is property of the receivership and may be sold	Receiver/Pls: yacht was purchased/refurbished with defendants’ funds and is estate property	Guice: asserts Fifth Amendment and does not concede ownership claim	Court found yacht to be receivership property (Guice did not dispute) and sale may be authorized
Whether to sell now or delay	Receiver/Pls: ongoing costs will erode value; sale preserves estate and funds receivership operations	Guice: implicitly opposed to loss of asset and asserts Fifth Amendment; no competing sale plan presented	Court agreed sale now was appropriate to prevent depreciation and conserve estate
Method of sale: public absolute auction vs. private sale under 28 U.S.C. §2001	Receiver/Pls: public auction is faster, draws buyers, avoids appraisal/private-sale delays and extra costs	Guice: did not propose alternative compliant private-sale process	Court held public absolute auction preferable and authorized it
Terms of sale and auctioneer selection (fees, buyer’s premium, marketing)	Receiver/Pls: proposed auctioneer experienced; fees below customary rates; terms reasonable to maximize recovery	Guice: no substantive objection to fees/terms asserted in record	Court approved agreement terms and auctioneer engagement

S.E.C. v. Elliott, 953 F.2d 1560 (11th Cir. 1992) (district court has broad powers and discretion in equity receivership, including selling property)
S.E.C. v. Elliott, 998 F.2d 922 (11th Cir. 1993) (reversal in part on other grounds noted; related appellate treatment of receivership authority)