A Bay Area real estate firm that's under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for, and received, the resignation of all its corporate officers and hired a restructuring specialist.

Investors in Novato-based Professional Financial Investors Inc. received notice of the SEC investigation earlier this month in letters from Ragghianti Freitas partner Eric Sternberger, a lawyer hired to handle the transfer of ownership of the company and an associated fund, Professional Investors Security Fund Inc., after founder Kenneth J. Casey died in May. The letters indicated that the SEC last month opened "a fact-finding inquiry" into Casey and "his companies' three decades of real estate investments." 

In a follow-up letter sent to investors June 14, Sternberger informed investors that Michael Hogan of Armanino LLP, an accounting and business consulting firm headquartered in California, had been hired as chief restructuring officer of PFI. Hogan leads Armanino's corporate finance and restructuring practice.  According to the letter,  the company also asked for and immediately received the resignation of PFI's corporate officers.

"All of the former corporate officers have committed to ensure the smooth and timely transfer of their operational knowledge to Mr. Hogan, which is vital to the efficient transition of day-to-day operations," wrote Sternberger in the June 14 letter. "We believe this new corporate structure is in the best interests of the investors." 

All payments to the firms' noteholders and withdrawals of investments were previously suspended for the pendency of the SEC investigation. In the June 14 letter, Sternberger indicated he hoped in the next 60 to 90 days to have "a full understanding" of the status of each of four different categories of investors, as well as the status of the 30 limited liability companies and 10 limited partnerships that make up the company. 

"Then we will be in a position to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to address all investment types and entities, and we will finally be in a position to give you a more informed and reliable expectation as to the status of your respective investments," Sternberger wrote.

A May 15 obituary in the Marin Independent Journal, which said Casey died unexpectedly, but did not list a cause of death, indicated that he was the largest commercial property owner in Marin County, one of the wealthiest countries per capita in the country. The company had previously represented publicly to investors on its website that it was poised to weather the economic turbulence caused by COVID-19. An undated "important message to investors" viewed June 8 on the company's website said the company's real estate investments "are doing exactly what they were meant to do." As of June 15, the company's website no longer appeared online.

Sternberger didn't immediately respond to a message seeking details on the number of officers who resigned from PFI and the number of employees that remain.

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