Court Finds CEO And Spouse Committed Fraud And Breached Fiduciary Duties In Scheme To Transfer Company Assets

Posted: June 15, 2026 / Written by: Samuel L. Butt, Thomas A. Kissane, Channing J. Turner, Ian Weiss / Categories Fraud/Misrepresentation, Fiduciary Duties, Tortious Interference

Court Finds CEO And Spouse Committed Fraud And Breached Fiduciary Duties In Scheme To Transfer Company Assets

On May 11, 2026, in Paley v. Curious Holdings, LLC, Index No. 162520/2015, Justice Andrew Borrok issued a decision after a 14-day bench trial finding defendants liable for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.

Following trial, the Court found that Jan Korbelin, the CEO of Curious Holdings, LLC, an animation production company, caused the company to transfer substantially all of its assets to entities owned by his wife, Marina Grasic, pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement, for nominal consideration and without disclosure to the company’s other stakeholders. The Court further found that Korbelin concealed the transfers from Curious’s 89% owner and from plaintiff Jonathan Paley, a former equity holder holding a $1,000,000 unsatisfied judgment against the company, by misrepresenting the company’s financial condition and omitting that a Disney contract had been executed and that an animated series was on the verge of being formally greenlighted. Ultimately, the court found that Korbelin had committed at least four frauds and four breaches of fiduciary duty, and that Grasic—the direct beneficiary of the transferred assets—had provided substantial assistance to each breach. The court awarded $1,000,000 in punitive damages against each defendant. The Court explained:

The trial record established beyond doubt that Korbelin and Grasic intentionally deliberatively conspired to perpetrate a massive fraud and multiple breaches of fiduciary duty in complete brazen disregard of Paley, Stewart, and Curious’ rights. They willfully and wantonly stripped Curious of its assets and money with the intent of, among other things, frustrating Paley’s rights to the $1,000,000 that he had settled his claims for and otherwise funded Grasic’s personal expenses after she was no longer working for Curious.

The attorneys at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP have extensive experience litigating claims for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in complex commercial disputes. Contact the Commercial Division Blog Committee at commercialdivisionblog@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions concerning such issues.