SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-KSB
x
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ANNUAL
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
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For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2007
¨
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TRANSITION
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
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For
the
transition period from
to
Commission
File No.: 0-29525
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC.
(Name
of
small business issuer in its charter)
Delaware
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33-0889197
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(State
or other jurisdiction of
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(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
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incorporation
or organization)
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707
Westchester Avenue, Suite L-7
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White
Plains, New York
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10604
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(Address
of principal executive offices)
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(Zip
Code)
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(914)
949-5500
(Issuer’s
telephone number)
Securities
registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:
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Name
of Each Exchange
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Title
of Each Class
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on
Which Registered
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Common
Stock, par value $.001 per share
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American
Stock Exchange
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Securities
registered under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act:
None
Check
whether the issuer (1) filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13
or
15(d) of the Exchange Act during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period
that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject
to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes
x
No
o
Check
if
there is no disclosure of delinquent filers in response to Item 405 of
Regulation S-B contained in this form, and no disclosure will be contained,
to
the best of Issuer’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-KSB or any amendment
to
this Form 10-KSB.
x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in rule
12
b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
o
No
x
The
issuer’s revenues for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 were
$2,845,823.
The
aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock held by non-affiliates
of the issuer was approximately $15,302,923, based on a closing price of $2.35
per share on April 11, 2008, as quoted on the American Stock Exchange.
As
of
April 11, 2008, 8,478,530 shares of the issuer’s Common Stock were issued and
outstanding.
Transitional
Small Business Disclosure Format (check one): Yes
o
No
x
Documents
Incorporated by Reference:
None
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PART
I.
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Item
1.
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Description
of business
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2
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Item
1A.
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Risk
factors
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14
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Item
2.
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Description
of property
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23
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Item
3.
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Legal
proceedings
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Item
4.
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Submission
of matters to a vote of security holders
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PART
II.
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Item
5.
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Market
for common equity, related stockholder matters and small business
issuer
purchase of equity securities
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24
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Item
6.
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Management’s
discussion and analysis or plan of operation
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25
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Item
7.
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Consolidated
financial statements
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36
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Item
8.
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Changes
in and disagreements with accountants on accounting and financial
disclosure
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Item
8A.
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Controls
and procedures
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Item
8B.
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Other
information
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37
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PART
III.
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Item
9.
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Directors,
executive officers, promoters, control persons and corporate governance;
compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
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37
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Item
10.
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Executive
compensation
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42
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Item
11.
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Security
ownership of certain beneficial owners and management and related
stockholder matters
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45
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Item
12.
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Certain
relationships and related transactions, and director
independence
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47
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Item
13.
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Exhibits
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48
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Item
14.
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Principal
accountant fees and services
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49
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Signatures
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51
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Financial
Statements
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F-1
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Exhibits
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PART
I.
ITEM
1. Description of Business
This
report contains forward-looking statements regarding our business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects. Words such as “expects,”
“anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar
expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking
statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking
statements in this report. Additionally, statements concerning future matters
such as the development or regulatory approval of new products, enhancements
of
existing products or technologies, revenue and expense levels and other
statements regarding matters that are not historical are forward-looking
statements.
Although
forward-looking statements in this report reflect the good faith judgment of
our
management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently
known by us. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject
to
risks and uncertainties and actual results and outcomes may differ materially
from the results and outcomes discussed in or anticipated by the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences in
results and outcomes include without limitation those discussed under the
heading “Risk Factors” below, as well as those discussed elsewhere in this
report. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. We undertake no
obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to
reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this report.
Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures
made
in this report, which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and
factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations
and prospects.
Overview
Debt
Resolve, Inc. (“we,” “our,” “us” and similar phrases refer to Debt Resolve,
Inc.), is a Delaware corporation formed on April 21, 1997. We provide a patented
software solution to consumer lenders based on our licensed, proprietary
DebtResolve
®
system.
Our Internet-based bidding system facilitates the settlement and collection
of
defaulted consumer debt via the Internet. Our existing and target creditor
clients include banks and other credit originators, credit card issuers and
third-party collection agencies, as well as assignees and buyers of charged-off
consumer debt. We believe that our system, which uses a client-branded
user-friendly web interface, provides our clients with a less intrusive, less
expensive, more secure and more efficient way of pursuing delinquent debts
than
traditional labor-intensive methods.
Our
DebtResolve system brings creditors and consumer debtors together to resolve
defaulted consumer debt online through a series of steps. The process is
initiated when one of our creditor clients electronically forwards to us a
file
of debtor accounts, and sets rules or parameters for handling each class of
accounts. The client then invites its consumer debtor to visit a client-branded
website, developed and hosted by us, where the consumer is presented with an
opportunity to satisfy the defaulted debt through our DebtResolve system.
Through our hosted website, the debtor is allowed to make three or four offers,
or select other options to resolve or settle the obligation. If the debtor
makes
an offer acceptable to our creditor client, payment can then be collected
directly through the DebtResolve system and deposited into the client’s account.
We then bill our client for the applicable fee. The entire resolution process
is
accomplished online.
We
completed development and commenced licensing of our software solution in 2004.
We currently have written contracts in place with and have begun processing
select portfolios for several banks, collection agencies and collection law
firms. The loss of one or more of these contracts would have a material adverse
impact on our business.
Through
DRV Capital LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary formed on June 5, 2006, we also
entered into the business of purchasing and collecting debt. However, on October
15, 2007, we discontinued the activities of DRV Capital and sold all remaining
portfolios. DRV Capital purchased defaulted consumer debt portfolios that were
managed and collected through our DebtResolve system and traditional collection
agencies. DRV Capital purchased charged-off debt portfolios through its
single-purpose subsidiary EAR Capital I, LLC, formed in December 2006 and used
funding provided by an investment partner. The investment partner was repaid,
and the agreement expired by its terms on December 21, 2007. Our decision to
discontinue DRV Capital was based on the decision that it was a non-core
asset.
On
January 19, 2007, we acquired First Performance Corporation and its subsidiary,
First Performance Recovery Corporation, both privately-owned debt collection
agencies with approximately 100 collectors, revenues of $6 million for the
year
ended December 31, 2006, and offices in Florida and Nevada, which we now operate
as a wholly-owned subsidiary. We spent much of 2007 restructuring this business
(after losing a few key clients) to improve profitability by reducing costs
and
declining business that had contributed to prior losses at First Performance,
while securing new clients with better profitability prospects. In June 2007,
we
consolidated all business activities of First Performance Corporation and First
Performance Recovery Corporation into our Nevada facility and now transact
all
business through First Performance Recovery. We believe that through the use
of
our DebtResolve system, our new collection agency will be able to achieve
significant economic advantages over our competitors, by both reducing
collection costs and achieving improved collection returns. In addition, we
believe the agency will serve as a test lab to develop “best practices” for the
integration of our DebtResolve system into the accounts receivable management
environment.
Corporate
Information
We
were
incorporated as a Delaware corporation in April 1997 under our former name,
Lombardia Acquisition Corp. In 2000, we filed a registration statement on Form
10-SB with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and became
a
reporting, non-trading public company. Through February 24, 2003, we were
inactive and had no significant assets, liabilities or operations. On February
24, 2003, James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman, directors of our company,
and Michael S. Harris, a former director of our company, purchased 2,250,000
newly-issued shares of our common stock, representing 84.6% of the then
outstanding shares. We received an aggregate cash payment of $22,500 in
consideration for the sale of such shares to Messrs. Burchetta, Brofman and
Harris. Our board of directors was then reconstituted and we began our current
business and product development. On May 7, 2003, following approvals by our
board of directors and holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common
stock, our certificate of incorporation was amended to change our corporate
name
to Debt Resolve, Inc. and to increase the number of our authorized shares of
common stock from 20,000,000 to 50,000,000 shares. On August 16, 2006, following
approvals by our board of directors and holders of a majority of our outstanding
shares of common stock, our certificate of incorporation was amended to increase
the number of our authorized shares of common stock from 50,000,000 to
100,000,000 shares. On August 25, 2006, following approvals by our board of
directors and holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock,
our certificate of incorporation was amended to effect a 1-for-10 reverse stock
split of our outstanding shares of common stock, which reduced our outstanding
shares of common stock from 29,703,900 to 2,970,390 shares. On November 6,
2006,
we completed an initial public offering which, in conjunction with the
conversion of convertible bridge notes into shares of our common stock,
increased the number of outstanding shares of common stock to 6,456,696.
Subsequent common stock grants, option exercises, the acquisition of First
Performance, warrant grants and private placements have brought us to our
current number of outstanding shares of common stock. Our principal executive
offices are located at 707 Westchester Avenue, Suite L-7, White Plains, New
York
10604, and our telephone number is (914) 949-5500. Our website is located at
http://www.debtresolve.com
.
Information contained in our website is not part of this report.
Our
Strengths
Through
formal focus groups and one-on-one user studies conducted by us with consumer
debtors who would be potential candidates to use the DebtResolve system, we
designed the system to be user-friendly and easily navigated.
We
believe our DebtResolve system has two key features that make it unique and
valuable:
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It
utilizes a blind-bidding system for settling debt - This feature
is the
subject of patent protection and, to date, has resulted in settlements
and
payments that average above the floor set by our
clients.
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It
facilitates best practices - The collections industry is very
results-driven. To adopt new techniques or technology, participants
want
to know exactly what kind of benefits to expect. We recognize this
and
also know that Internet-based collection is a new technology, and
there is
room to improve its performance. Through First Performance, our new
collection agency business, we can not only monitor results on multiple
types of debt but also build best practices for how debtors can be
encouraged to go to the website and how - once there - they can be
encouraged to pay. By sharing the results with our clients and building
best practices, we expect to help secure sales and improve revenue
to us.
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The
main
advantages to consumer debtors in using our DebtResolve system are:
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A
greater feeling of dignity and control over the debt collection
process.
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Confidentiality,
security, ease-of-use and 24-hour
access.
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A
less threatening experience than dealing directly with debt
collectors.
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Despite
these advantages, neither we nor any other company has established a firm
foothold in the potential new market for online debt collection. Effective
utilization of our system will require a change in thinking on the part of
the
debt collection industry, and the market for online collection of defaulted
consumer debt may never develop to the extent that we envision or that is
required for our Internet product to become a viable, stand-alone business.
However, we intend to continuously enhance and extend our offerings and develop
significant expertise in consumer behavior with respect to online debt payment
to remain ahead of potential competitors. We believe we have the following
key
competitive advantages:
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To
our knowledge, we are the first to market an integrated set of
Internet-based consumer debt collection
tools.
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As
the first to market, we have developed early expertise which we expect
will allow us to keep our technology on the leading edge and develop
related offerings and services to meet our clients’
needs.
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The
patent license to the Internet bidding process protects the DebtResolve
system’s key methodology and limits what future competitors may
develop.
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The
effectiveness of the Internet bidding model to settle claims has
already
been shown in the insurance industry by Cybersettle, Inc. (with respect
to
insurance claims) and our first
clients.
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The
industry reputation of our management team and the extensive consumer
debt
research we have conducted provide us with credibility with potential
clients.
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The
ability to share best practices with our clients due to the collaborative
efforts of our complementary
businesses.
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Development-Stage
Activities and Acquisitions
During
the last several years, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts to
planning and budgeting, product development, and raising capital. In January
2004, we substantially completed the development of our online solution and
began marketing it to banks, collection agencies, debt buyers and other
creditors. In February 2004, we implemented our DebtResolve system, on a test
basis, with a collection agency. From that time forward, we have implemented
our
system with additional clients, but have not earned, nor did we expect to
generate, significant revenues from these clients during the initial start-up
periods. During the last quarter of 2007, Internet revenue began to increase
over the first three quarters of 2007, and we expect it to accelerate in 2008.
On January 19, 2007, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of First
Performance Corporation for a combination of cash and shares of our common
stock.
Our
Core Business
The
DebtResolve System
Our
DebtResolve system brings creditors and consumer debtors together to resolve
defaulted consumer debt through a series of steps. The process is initiated
when
one of our clients electronically forwards to us a file of debtor accounts
and
sets rules or parameters for handling each class of accounts. The client then
invites its customer (the consumer debtor) to visit a client-branded website,
developed and hosted by us, where the consumer debtor is presented with an
opportunity to satisfy the defaulted debt through the DebtResolve system.
Through the website, the consumer debtor is allowed to make three or four
offers, or select other options, to resolve or settle the obligation. If the
consumer debtor makes an offer acceptable to our creditor client, payment can
then be collected directly through the DebtResolve system and deposited into
the
client’s own account. We then bill our client for the applicable fee. The entire
resolution process is accomplished online.
Our
DebtResolve system consists of a suite of modules. These modules include the
core DR Settle™ module, DR Pay™ for online payments, DR Control™ for system
administration, DR Mail™ as our secure e-mail methodology, DR Prevent™ for early
stage collections treatments and DR-Default™ for collection of defaulted
mortgages and automobile loans. Our DebtResolve system is centered on our online
bidding module, DR Settle, which allows debtors to make offers, or “bids,”
setting forth what they can pay against their total overdue balances.
We
believe that our DebtResolve system can be a highly effective collections tool
at all stages and with each class of potential DebtResolve system users we
have
identified, including credit originators, outside collection agencies and
collection law firms and debt buyers. The means by which collections have
traditionally been pursued, by phone and mail, are, we believe, perceived by
debtors as intrusive and intimidating. In addition, the general trend in the
collections industry is moving towards outsourcing of collections efforts to
third parties.
Our
DebtResolve system offers significant benefits to our creditor
clients:
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Enabling
them to reduce the cost of collecting defaulted consumer
debt,
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Minimizing
the need for collectors on the
phone,
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Updating
consumer debtor contact and other
information,
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Achieving
real time settlements with consumer
debtors,
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Adding
a new and cost-effective communication
channel,
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Appealing
to new segments of debtors who do not respond to traditional collection
techniques,
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Easily
implementing and testing different collection strategies to potentially
increase current rates of return on defaulted consumer
debt,
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Improving
compliance with applicable federal and state debt collection laws
and
regulations through the use of a controlled script, and
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Preserving
and enhancing their brand name by providing a positive tool for
communicating with consumers.
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Debt-Buying
and Collection Agency Businesses
DRV
Capital LLC
On
June
13, 2006, we formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, DRV Capital LLC. Through DRV
Capital, we entered into the business of purchasing and collecting debt.
However, on October 15, 2007, we discontinued the activities of DRV Capital
and
sold all remaining portfolios. DRV Capital purchased defaulted consumer debt
portfolios that were managed and collected through our DebtResolve system and
traditional collection agencies. DRV Capital purchased charged-off debt
portfolios through its single-purpose subsidiary EAR Capital I, LLC, formed
in
December 2006 and used funding provided by an investment partner. The investment
partner was repaid, and the agreement expired by its terms on December 21,
2007.
We decided to exit this business to focus more attention of our core
business.
First
Performance Corporation
We
purchased First Performance Corporation and its subsidiary, First Performance
Recovery Corporation, in January 2007. First Performance is a collection agency
that represents both regional and national credit grantors and debt buyers
from
such diverse industries as retail, bankcard, oil cards, mortgage and auto.
As of
December 2007, First Performance Recovery had 20 full-time employees, all of
whom are located at its Las Vegas, Nevada offices, and 13 active clients.
By
entering this business directly, we have signaled our intention to become a
significant player in the accounts receivable management industry. We believe
that through a mixture of both traditional and our innovative,
technologically-driven collection methods, we will achieve superior returns.
We
believe that integrating our DebtResolve system into the collection process
will
allow us to:
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Earn
superior returns from opportunistic situations, such as low balance
debt,
student debt, and Internet-based debt, all of which lend themselves
to our
lower-cost, Internet-based
solution.
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Achieve
improved collection returns through higher debtor contact, as our
DebtResolve system taps an expanded debtor base via the Internet-based
communications delivery system.
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Achieve
improved collection returns, as our online settlement system lends
itself
to improved liquidation rates per debtor.
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Optimize
the effective usage of our online system by using First Performance
as a
testing “laboratory.”
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Due
to
the loss of four major clients at First Performance during the first nine
months
of 2007, we performed two interim impairment analyses in accordance with
SFAS
142. As a result of these analyses, we recorded impairment charges aggregating
$1,206,335 during the year ended December 31, 2007.
Our
Industry
According
to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, consumer credit has increased from $133.7
billion in 1970 to $2.5 trillion in December 2007, a compound annual growth
rate
of 8.2% for the period. For January 2008, U.S. consumer credit increased at
an
annual rate of 3.25%, revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 7%, and
non-revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 1%. In parallel, the
accounts receivables management (ARM) industry accounts for $15 billion in
annual revenues according to industry analyst Kaulkin Ginsberg.
There
are
several major collections industry trends:
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Profit
margins are stagnating or declining due to the fixed costs of collections.
In addition, the worsening economy means more delinquencies to collect
but
a higher inability on the part of debtors to pay. Thus, costs increase
to
generate the same level of revenue. The ACA International’s 2008
Benchmarking & Agency Operations Survey shows that more than 50% of
the operating costs are directly related to the cost of the collections
agents, making the business difficult to scale using traditional
staffing
and collections methods.
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Small
to mid-size agencies will need to offer competitive pricing and more
services to compete with larger agencies, as well as focus on niche
areas
that require specialized expertise.
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Off-shoring
is being considered by both creditors and third-party collectors,
but
there is a concern about the effectiveness of collectors due to cultural
differences.
|
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·
|
Debt
buyers may start collecting more debt themselves while agencies may
start
buying more debt, creating more competitiveness within the ARM
industry.
|
The
collections industry has always been driven by letters and agent calls to
debtors. In the early 1990’s dialer technology created an improvement in calling
efficiency. However, it was not until about a decade later that any new
technologies were introduced. These new technologies include analytics,
interactive voice response systems and Internet-based collections. Of these,
interactive voice response systems and Internet-based collections have the
ability to positively impact the cost-to-collect by reducing agent involvement,
while analytics focuses agent time on the accounts with the highest potential
to
collect.
Our
Business Growth Strategy
Our
goal
is to become a significant player in the ARM industry by making our DebtResolve
system a key collection tool at all stages of delinquency across all categories
of consumer debt. The key elements of our business growth strategy are
to:
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·
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Accelerate
our marketing efforts and extend target markets for the Internet
product.
Initially,
we have marketed our DebtResolve system to credit issuers, their
collection agencies and the buyers of their defaulted debt in the
United
States, Canada and the United Kingdom. We also entered the auto
collections vertical in 2007 with the addition of several clients
in this
area. As of December 31, 2007, we were actively targeting new market
segments like healthcare and telecom and utility companies, and new
geographic markets, like Asia and other international markets. Other
markets in the United States may include student loan debt and
Internet/payday lending. Our new CEO, Kenneth Montgomery, has very
strong
sales, marketing and senior management experience and is working
to
accelerate our revenue growth.
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·
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Expand
our service offerings.
Using
statistics developed through our in-house collection agency, we plan
to
build a scoring model. This scoring model will identify customers
based on
their propensity to use the Internet versus other channels offered
and, we
believe, will help both our creditor clients and ourselves to determine
to
what degree settlement should be offered as an option. In addition,
w
e
will continue to pursue opportunities, either through software licensing,
acquisition or product extension, to enter related markets well-suited
for
our proprietary technology and other services. We may work by ourselves
or
with partners to provide one-stop shopping to our clients for a broad
array of collection related
services.
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·
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Pursue
strategic acquisitions.
In
January 2007, we purchased First Performance. We may seek to make
additional strategic acquisitions of businesses, assets and technologies
that complement our business.
|
|
·
|
Grow
our client base.
As
of December 31, 2007, we had 8 clients. Our clients consist of credit
issuers, (including banks), collection agencies and collection law
firms.
With our suite of online products, and our acquisition of First
Performance, we believe we can expand our client base by offering
a
broader range of services. We believe that our clients can benefit
from
our patented, cost-effective technology and other services, and we
intend
to continue to market and sell our services to them under long-term
recurring revenue contracts.
|
|
·
|
Increase
adoption rates.
Our
clients typically pay us either usage fees per settlement or license
fees
based on their number of end-users and volume of transactions. Registered
end-users using account presentation and payments services are the
major
drivers of our recurring revenues. Using our proprietary technology
and
our marketing processes, we will continue to assist our clients in
growing
the adoption rates for our
services.
|
|
·
|
Provide
additional products and services to our installed client
base.
We
intend to continue to leverage our installed client base by expanding
the
range of new products and services available to our clients, through
internal development, partnerships and
alliances.
|
|
·
|
Maintain
and leverage technological leadership.
Our
technology and integration expertise has enabled us to be among the
first
to introduce an online method for the resolution of consumer debt,
and we
believe we have pioneered the online collection technology space.
We
believe the scope and speed of integration of our technology-based
services gives us a competitive advantage and with our efforts on
continued research and development, we intend to continue to maintain
our
technological leadership.
|
|
·
|
Facilitate
and leverage growth.
We
believe our growth will be facilitated by the fact that we have already
established “proof of concept” of our system with our initial national
clients, as well as from the increasing level of consumer debt both
in the
United States and internationally, the significant level of charge-offs
by
consumer debt originators and recent major changes in consumer bankruptcy
laws. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act,
which
became effective in October 2005, significantly limits the availability
of
relief under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, where consumer
debts
can be discharged without any effort at repayment. Under this new
law,
consumer debtors with some ability to repay their debts are either
barred
from bankruptcy relief or forced into repayment plans under Chapter
13 of
the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In addition, this law imposes mandatory
budget
and credit counseling as a precondition to filing bankruptcy. We
expect
that these more stringent requirements will make bankruptcy a much
less
attractive option for most consumer debtors to resolve outstanding
debt
and will increase the pool of accounts suitable for our DebtResolve
system
and potentially lead more creditors to utilize our
system.
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Sales
and Marketing
The
DebtResolve System
Our
current sales efforts for our core business are focused on United States and
United Kingdom consumer credit issuers, collection agencies and the buyers
of
defaulted consumer debt. Our primary targets are the major companies in each
of
these segments: credit card issuers, auto loan grantors, telecoms, utilities
as
well as the most significant outside collection agencies and purchasers of
charged-off debt. In addition we have contracted with fasEo, a United Kingdom
and European-focused sales and marketing consultancy to introduce our product
to
these markets. The fasEo principals have direct experience in the credit card
industry and will begin their focus on the UK credit card industry and other
grantors of consumer credit. We obtained our first UK client, a top collection
agency, in 2007 and completed implementation of their system in early
2008.
We
also
formed a partnership with ODC Tools in the Netherlands to market our system
in
the Benelux countries. We have a number of prospects and expect to make steady
progress in attracting new clients on the European continent. We also have
a
number of other partnerships being implemented or negotiated in other areas
around the globe.
The
economics of an Internet model means that our fixed costs will be relatively
stable in relation to growth of our business, thereby improving margins over
time. It is our intention to base pricing on the value gained by clients rather
than on our direct costs. In general, we believe that if our services are priced
at a reasonable discount to the relative cost of traditional collections, the
economic advantages will be sufficiently compelling to persuade clients to
offer
the DebtResolve system to a majority of their target debtors as a preferred
or
alternate channel. A key part of our sales strategy is to build a
proof-of-concept by sub-market. This involves tracking results by each
sub-market on the percentage of debtors that use our online system, the number
that pay, and the amount paid compared to the settlement “floor” that our
clients desire. These results form the basis for the business case and are
key
to closing sales. Results will come from existing clients, new partnerships
and
from our First Performance portfolios.
Our
marketing efforts will focus on strengthening our image versus that of our
competition, refining our message by market, and re-introducing our company
as a
financially-sound, growing enterprise.
First
Performance Recovery Corporation
First
Performance was restructured in 2007 with new management, new technology and
new
clients. First Performance sells to the financial, prime and sub-prime
automotive, retail, healthcare and mortgage industries across the United States.
In addition to debt collection, it also offers related services including
skip-tracing and litigation referral, as well as lead generation for mortgage
companies. We expect to market our First Performance collection service to
large
banks and other credit issuers, debt buyers, healthcare institutions and other
financial institutions focused on consumer mortgages.
Technology
License and Proprietary Technology
At
the
core of our DebtResolve system is a patent-protected bidding methodology
co-invented by James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman, the co-founders of
our
company. We originally entered into a license agreement in February
2003
with
Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman for the licensed usage of the intellectual
property rights relating to U.S. Patent No. 6,330,551 issued by the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office on December 11, 2001 for “Computerized Dispute and
Resolution System and Method” worldwide. This patent, which expires August 5,
2018, covers automated and online, double blind-bid systems that generate
high-speed settlements by matching offers and demands in rounds. In June 2005,
we amended and restated the license agreement in its entirety. The licensed
usage is limited to the creation of software and other code enabling an
automated system used solely for the settlement and collection of delinquent,
defaulted and other types of credit card receivables and other consumer debt
and
specifically excludes the settlement and collection of insurance claims, tax
and
other municipal fees of all types. The licensed usage also includes the
creation, distribution and sale of software products or solutions for the same
aim as above and with the same exclusions. In lieu of cash royalty fees, Messrs.
Burchetta and Brofman have agreed to accept stock options to purchase shares
of
our common stock, which were granted as follows:
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initially,
we granted to each of Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman a stock option
for up
to such number of shares of our common stock such that the stock
option,
when added to the number of shares of our common stock owned by each
of
Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman, and in combination with any shares
owned by
any of their respective immediate family members and affiliates,
would
equal 14.6% of the total number of our outstanding shares of common
stock
on a fully-diluted basis as of the closing of our then-potential
initial
public offering, assuming the exercise of such stock option (at the
close
of our initial public offering in November 2006, we issued to each
of
Messrs. Brofman and Burchetta stock options for the purchase of up
to
758,717 shares of our common
stock),
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if,
and upon, our reaching (in combination with any subsidiaries and
other
sub-licensees) $10,000,000 in gross revenues derived from the licensed
usage in any given fiscal year, we will grant each of Messrs. Burchetta
and Brofman such additional number of stock options as will equal
1% of
our total number of outstanding shares of common stock on a fully-diluted
basis at such time,
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if,
and upon, our reaching (in combination with any subsidiaries and
other
sub-licensees) $15,000,000 in gross revenues derived from the licensed
usage in any given fiscal year, we will grant each of Messrs. Burchetta
and Brofman such additional number of stock options as will equal
1.5% of
our total number of outstanding shares of common stock on a fully-diluted
basis at such time, and
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if,
and upon, our reaching (in combination with any subsidiaries and
other
sub-licensees) $20,000,000 in gross revenues derived from the licensed
usage in any given fiscal year, we will grant each of Messrs. Burchetta
and Brofman such additional number of stock options as will equal
2% of
our total number of outstanding shares of common stock on a fully-diluted
basis at such time.
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The
stock
options granted to Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman pursuant to the license
agreement have an exercise price of $5.00 per share and are exercisable for
ten
years from the date of grant.
The
term
of the license agreement extends until the expiration of the last-to-expire
patents licensed hereunder (now 7 patents) and is not terminable by Messrs.
Burchetta and Brofman, the licensors. The license agreement also provides that
we will have the right to control the ability to enforce the patent rights
licensed to us against infringers and defend against any third-party
infringement actions brought with respect to the patent rights licensed to
us
subject, in the case of pleadings and settlements, to the reasonable consent
of
Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman. The terms of the license agreement, including
the
exercise price and number of stock options granted under the agreement, were
negotiated in an arm’s-length transaction between Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman,
on the one hand, and our independent directors, on the other hand.
Cybersettle,
Inc. also licenses and utilizes the patent-protected bidding methodology
co-invented by Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman, exclusive to the settlement of
personal injury, property and worker’s compensation claims between claimants and
insurance companies, self-insured corporations and municipalities. Cybersettle
is controlled by XL Capital Ltd., one of the world’s largest insurance
providers, and Mr. Brofman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Cybersettle. Cybersettle is not affiliated with us.
In
addition, we have developed our own software based on the licensed intellectual
property rights. We regard our software as proprietary and rely primarily on
a
combination of copyright, trademark and trade secret laws of general
applicability, employee confidentiality and invention assignment agreements
and
other intellectual property protection methods to safeguard our technology
and
software. We have not applied for patents on any of our own technology. We
have
obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a registered trademark
for
our DebtResolve corporate and system name as well as our slogan “Debt Resolve -
Settlement with Dignity.” “DR Settle,” “DR Pay,” “DR Control,” “DR Mail,” “DR
Prevent,” “Debt Resolve - Resolved. With Dignity,” “Connect. Resolve. Collect.,”
“DR-Default,” “First Performance Corporation,” and “First Performance Recovery
Corporation” are our trademarks/service marks, and we intend to attempt to
register them with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well.
Technology
and Service Providers
In
2007,
we outsource our web hosting to Cervalis LLC and replaced AT&T for
significant cost savings, while maintaining our security in a SAS 70 certified
environment. The Cervalis hosting facility is located in Wappingers Falls,
New
York. We use our own servers in Cervalis’ environment to operate our proprietary
software developed in our White Plains, New York facility.
Competition
The
DebtResolve System
Internet-based
technology was introduced to the collections industry in 2004 and has three
primary participants: us, Apollo Enterprise Solutions, LLC and Online Resources
Corp.
Apollo
Enterprise Solutions, LLC is a start-up company with a primary investor/CEO
whose additional funding has come from private sources. Apollo has a mixed
team
of employees/consultants who are located at their facility in Irvine, CA or
are
geographically dispersed. Their marketing and sales efforts are focused on
high-end banks and some large agencies, both in the United States and the United
Kingdom. In 2005 through 2007, we believe Apollo spent more than their
competitors on advertising and trade show sponsorships. Their sales strategy
has
been to be the lowest-cost provider. In terms of product positioning, Apollo
emphasizes their technology - especially their rules engine that allows a client
to set treatment strategies, and the ability to process real-time credit scores
for inclusion in the debtor treatment strategy. Overall, Apollo has a feature
set similar to our DebtResolve system - including the rules engine - and
appeared to replicate our proprietary blind bidding system. In January 2007,
we
filed a patent infringement law suit against Apollo.
On
November 5, 2007, Debt Resolve and Apollo jointly announced that they had
reached a settlement of the pending patent infringement lawsuit. The parties
came to agreement that Apollo’s system, as represented by Apollo, does not
infringe on Debt Resolve’s United States Patents: Nos. 6,330,551 and 6,954,741,
both entitled Computerized Dispute Resolution System and Method. The parties
further agreed to respect each other’s intellectual property to the extent it is
validly patent protected with the parties reserving all of their legal
rights.
Online
Resources Corp. is an established, publicly-traded company whose primary
businesses are online banking and online payments. Their online collections
product was built by Incurrent Solutions, Inc., a company that Online Resources
acquired in late 2004. Incurrent had a small base of credit card issuers as
clients of their self-service website product line. Their online collections
product has been initially sold to large U.S. card issuers (top 25) but Online
Resources has begun sales efforts to agencies. Online Resources has documented
results from a top card issuer, but their product is not as complete as either
Apollo’s or ours. However, their recent partnering with Intelligent Results to
provide rules engine technology shows that Online Resources is addressing
product deficiencies. From a sales and marketing perspective, they have
benefited from being a stable, relatively large-sized company. Online Resources
may be able to reap some advantages from the integration of online bill payment
capabilities with their online collections, but the product line is only a
small
piece of the overall company which could impact marketing and development
resources. In addition, their product has the slowest implementation time of
the
three competitors and, consequently, higher up-front fees.
The
DebtResolve system has a client tool that makes setting up treatment programs
as
flexible as those offered by Apollo and Online Resources, but we believe is
especially easy for our clients to use. Its implementation time is guaranteed
at
30-days maximum, and we have a track record that supports this claim. Our
DebtResolve system does not have an in-house payment processing system. Many
potential clients already have a processing system, and we can provide an
interface to that system. In 2007, we integrated to one payment processor that
is very active in the ARM industry and began discussions with another. In
addition, although Apollo plays up its ability to handle real-time credit scores
as a key differentiator, we have not found any evidence that this is a
requirement in the industry. However, we believe that matching that feature,
if
it becomes an issue, is a fairly straightforward process.
First
Performance Corporation
The
consumer credit recovery industry is highly competitive and fragmented. We
compete with a wide range of collection companies, financial services companies,
traditional contingency agencies and in-house recovery departments. Competitive
pressures affect the availability and pricing of receivable portfolios, as
well
as the availability and cost of qualified recovery personnel. In addition,
some
of our competitors may have signed forward flow contracts under which
originating institutions have agreed to transfer charged-off receivables to
them
in the future, which could restrict those originating institutions from selling
receivables to us. We believe some of our major competitors, which include
companies that focus primarily on the purchase of charged-off receivable
portfolios, have continued to diversify into third-party agency collections
and
into offering credit card and other financial services as part of their recovery
strategy.
Government
Regulation
There
are
multiple regulations that govern our debt collection businesses. However, we
believe that our Internet technology business is not subject to any regulations
by governmental agencies other than that routinely imposed on corporate and
Internet-based businesses. We believe it is unlikely that state or foreign
regulators would take the position that our DebtResolve system effectively
constitutes the collection of debts that is subject to licensing and other
laws
regulating the activities of collection agencies.
Our
First
Performance subsidiary is an accounts receivable management agency that handles
debt from multiple types of clients. Our agency business is at risk if it does
not comply with the rules and regulations imposed on third-party collectors.
First Performance is licensed by the states where it does business (virtually
all) to conduct collection activities in these states.
These
laws and regulations would include applicable state revolving credit, credit
card or usury laws, state consumer plain English and disclosure laws, the
Uniform Consumer Credit Code, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Electronic
Funds Transfer Act, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the federal Truth in Lending
Act (including the Fair Credit Billing Act amendments) and the Federal Reserve
Board’s implementation of Regulation Z, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act,
and state unfair and deceptive acts and practices laws. Collection laws and
regulations also directly apply to our business, such as the federal Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act and state law counterparts. Additional consumer
protection and privacy protection laws may be enacted that would impose
additional requirements on the enforcement of and collection on defaulted
consumer debt, and any new laws, rules or regulations that may be adopted,
as
well as existing consumer protection and privacy protection laws, may adversely
affect our ability to collect, particularly at our First Performance subsidiary.
Finally, federal and state governmental bodies are considering, and may consider
in the future, other legislative proposals that would regulate the collection
of
consumer debt, and although we cannot predict if or how any future legislation
would impact this expansion of our business into traditional collections, our
failure to comply with any current or future laws or regulations applicable
to
us could limit our ability to collect on any consumer debt.
For
our
Internet technology business, any penetration of our network security or other
misappropriation of consumers’ personal information could subject us to
liability. Other potential misuses of personal information, such as for
unauthorized marketing purposes, could also result in claims against us. These
claims could result in litigation. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission
and
several states have investigated the use by certain Internet companies of
personal information.
In
addition, pursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, our financial institution
clients must require us to include in their contracts with us that we have
appropriate data security standards in place. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
stipulates that we must protect against unauthorized access to, or use of,
consumer debtor information that could result in detrimental use against or
substantial inconvenience to any consumer debtor. Detrimental use or substantial
inconvenience is most likely to result from improper access to sensitive
consumer debtor information because this type of information is most likely
to
be misused, as in the commission of identity theft. We believe we have adequate
policies and procedures in place to protect this information; however, if we
experience a data security breach that results in any penetration of our network
security or other misappropriation of consumers’ personal information, or if we
have an inadequate data security program in place, our financial institution
clients may consider us to be in breach of our agreements with them, and we
may
be subject to litigation.
The
laws
and regulations applicable to the Internet and our services are evolving and
unclear and could damage our business. Due to the increasing popularity and
use
of the Internet, it is possible that laws and regulations may be adopted,
covering issues such as user privacy, pricing, taxation, content regulation,
quality of products and services, and intellectual property ownership and
infringement. This legislation could expose us to substantial liability or
require us to incur significant expenses in complying with any new regulations.
Increased regulation or the imposition of access fees could substantially
increase the costs of communicating on the Internet, potentially decreasing
the
demand for our services. A number of proposals have been made at the federal,
state and local level and in foreign countries that would impose additional
taxes on the sale of goods and services over the Internet. Such proposals,
if
adopted, could adversely affect us. Moreover, the applicability to the Internet
of existing laws governing issues such as personal privacy is uncertain. We
may
be subject to claims that our services violate such laws. Any new legislation
or
regulation in the United States or abroad or the application of existing laws
and regulations to the Internet could adversely affect our business.
We
are
actively licensing our DebtResolve system to prospects in the United Kingdom
and
have obtained our first client there. Since we host client account data on
our
system, we are subject to European data protection law that derives from the
Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) of the European Commission,
which
has been implemented in the United Kingdom under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Under the Data Protection Act, we are categorized as a “data processor.” As a
data processor, we are required to agree to take steps, including technical
and
organizational security measures, to ensure that personal data which may
identify a living individual that may be passed to our DebtResolve system by
our
creditor client in the course of our business is protected. In addition, the
Consumer Credit Act 1974 of the United Kingdom and various regulations made
under it governs the consumer finance market in the United Kingdom and provides
that our creditor client must hold a license to carry on a consumer credit
business. Under the Consumer Credit Act, all activities conducted through our
DebtResolve system must be by, and in the name of, the creditor client. We
cannot predict how foreign laws will impact our ability to expand our business
internationally or affect the cost of such expansion. We will evaluate
applicable foreign laws as our efforts to expand our business into other foreign
jurisdictions warrant.
Employees
As
of the
date of this report, we have 33 employees in total, of which 30 are full-time
employees. Of our total employees, 11 are based at our corporate headquarters
in
White Plains, New York and 22 are based in First Performance’s office in Las
Vegas, Nevada. None of our employees is subject to a collective bargaining
agreement, and we believe that our relations with our employees are good.
ITEM
1A. Risk Factors
Cautionary
Statements and Risk Factors
Set
forth below and elsewhere in this Form 10-KSB and in other documents we file
with the SEC are important risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual
results of operations, business and financial condition to differ materially
from the results contemplated by the forward looking statements contained in
this Form 10-KSB.
Risks
Related to Our Businesses
Our
independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory
paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as
a
going concern.
For
the
year ended December 31, 2007, we had inadequate revenues and incurred a net
loss from continuing operations of $12,143,832. Cash used in operating and
investing activities for continuing operations was $7,517,851 for the year
ended
December 31, 2007. Based upon projected operating expenses, we believe
that our working capital as of the date of this report may not be
sufficient to fund our plan of operations for the next twelve months. The
aforementioned factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue
as
a going concern.
The
Company needs to raise additional capital in order to be able to accomplish
its
business plan objectives. The Company has historically satisfied its
capital needs primarily from the sale of debt and equity securities.
Management of the Company is continuing its efforts to secure additional
funds through debt and/or equity instruments. Management believes that
it will
be successful in obtaining additional financing; however, no assurance
can be
provided that the Company will be able to do so. There is no assurance
that
these funds will be sufficient to enable the Company to attain profitable
operations or continue as a going concern. To the extent that the Company
is unsuccessful, the Company may need to curtail its operations and implement
a
plan to extend payables and reduce overhead until sufficient additional
capital
is raised to support further operations. There can be no assurance that
such a
plan will be successful. These consolidated financial statements do not
include
any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Subsequent
to December 31, 2007, the Company has secured additional financing from
three
related parties in the aggregate amount of $167,000. In addition, the
Company has also entered into various notes payable with a bank and other
investors in the aggregate amount of $848,000. On March 31, 2008, the
Company entered into a private placement agreement with Harmonie International
LLC (“Harmonie”) for $7,000,000. As of April 14, 2008, funds under this
agreement have not been received and there is no assurance that the Company
will
receive such proceeds.
We
have a limited operating history at the Internet business on which to evaluate
our potential for executing our business strategy. This makes it difficult
to
evaluate our future prospects and the risk of success or failure of our
business.
We
began
our Internet technology operations in 2003, therefore your evaluation of our
business and prospects will be based on the limited operating history of this
business. Consequently, our historical results of operations may not give an
accurate indication of our future results of operations or prospects. You must
consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties
we
will encounter in a relatively new and rapidly evolving market. We may not
be
able to address these risks and difficulties, which make it difficult to
evaluate our future prospects and the viability of our business.
We
have experienced significant and continuing losses from operations. In fiscal
years 2006 and 2007, we have incurred total net losses for these two years
of
$33,785,918. If such losses continue, we may not be able to continue our
operations.
We
incurred a net loss from continuing operations of $12,143,832 for the year
ended
December 31, 2007 and $21,642,086 for the year ended December 31, 2006. From
February 2003 to date, our operations have been funded almost entirely through
the proceeds that we have received from the issuance of our common stock
in
private placements, the issuance of our 7% convertible promissory notes in
two
private financings in 2005, the issuance of convertible and non-convertible
notes in a private financing in June 2006, the issuance of our common stock
at
our initial public offering, and from a private financing in 2007 and various
individual private placements and shareholder loans . If we continue to
experience losses, we may not be able to continue our operations.
If
we are unable to retain current DebtResolve system clients and attract new
clients, or if our clients do not actively submit defaulted consumer debt
accounts on our DebtResolve system or successfully promote access to the
website, we will not be able to generate revenues or continue our DebtResolve
system business.
We
expect
that our DebtResolve system revenue will come from taking a success fee equal
to
a percentage of defaulted consumer debt accounts that are settled and collected
through our online DebtResolve system, from a flat fee per settlement or from
recurring license fees for the use of our system, potentially coupled with
success or other transaction fees. We depend on our creditor clients, who
include but are not limited to first-party creditors such as banks, lenders,
credit card issuers, telecoms and utilities, third-party collection agencies
and
purchasers of charged-off debt, to initiate the process by submitting defaulted
consumer debt accounts on our system along with the settlement offers. We cannot
be sure that we will be able to retain our existing, and enter into new,
relationships with creditor clients in the future. In addition, we cannot be
certain that we will be able to establish these creditor client relationships
on
favorable economic terms. Finally, we cannot control the number of accounts
that
our clients will submit on our system, how successfully they will promote access
to the website, or whether the use of our system will result in any increase
in
recovery over traditional collection methods. If our client base, and their
corresponding claims submission, does not increase significantly or experience
favorable results, we will not be able to generate sufficient revenues to
continue and sustain our DebtResolve system business.
If
we are unable to retain current First Performance Recovery clients and attract
new clients, or if our First Performance clients do not actively submit
defaulted consumer debt accounts, we will not be able to generate revenues
or
continue our First Performance business.
We
expect
that our First Performance Recovery revenue will come from taking a success
fee
equal to a percentage of defaulted consumer debt accounts that are settled
and
collected by First Performance. We depend on our creditor clients, who include
but are not limited to first-party creditors such as banks, lenders, credit
card
issuers, telecoms and utilities, third-party collection agencies and purchasers
of charged-off debt, to initiate the process by submitting defaulted consumer
debt accounts to First Performance. We cannot be sure that we will be able
to
retain our existing, and enter into new, relationships with First Performance
creditor clients in the future. In addition, we cannot be certain that we will
be able to establish these creditor client relationships on favorable economic
terms. Finally, we cannot control the number of accounts that our clients will
submit, or whether First Performance’s collection methods will be effective. If
our First Performance client base, and their corresponding claims submission,
does not increase or experience favorable results, we will not be able to
generate sufficient revenues to continue and sustain our First Performance
business.
We
may be unable to meet our future liquidity requirements.
We
depend
on both internal and external sources of financing to fund our operations.
Our
inability to obtain financing and capital as needed or on terms acceptable
to us
would limit our ability to operate our business.
We
may fail to successfully integrate acquisitions and reduce our operating
expenses.
We
recently acquired First Performance Corporation and its subsidiary, First
Performance Recovery Corporation and, although we have no definitive agreements
in place to do so currently, we may in the future seek to acquire additional
complementary businesses, assets or technologies. The integration of the
businesses, assets and technologies we have acquired or may acquire will be
critical. Integrating the management and operations of these businesses, assets
and technologies is time consuming, and we cannot guarantee we will achieve
any
of the anticipated synergies and other benefits expected to be realized from
acquisitions. We currently have limited experience with making acquisitions
and
we expect to face one or more of the following difficulties:
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integrating
the products, services, financial, operational and administrative
functions of acquired businesses, especially those larger than
us,
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delays
in realizing the benefits of our strategies for an acquired business
which
fails to perform in accordance with
expectations,
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diversion
of our management’s attention from our existing operations since
acquisitions often require substantial management time,
and
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acquisition
of businesses with unknown liabilities, software bugs or adverse
litigation and claims.
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If
we are unable to implement our marketing program or if we are unable to build
positive brand awareness for our company and our services, demand for our
services will be limited, and we will not be able to grow our client base and
generate revenues.
We
believe that building brand awareness of our DebtResolve system and marketing
our services in order to grow our client base and generate revenues is crucial
to the viability of our business. Furthermore, we believe that brand awareness
is a key differentiating factor among providers of online services, and given
this, we believe that brand awareness will become increasingly important as
competition is introduced in our target markets. In order to increase brand
awareness, we must devote significant time and resources in our marketing
efforts, provide high-quality client support and increase the number of
creditors and consumers using our services. While we may maintain a “Powered by
Debt Resolve” logo on each screen that consumer’s view when they log on to the
DebtResolve system, this logo may be inadequate to build brand awareness among
consumers. If initial clients do not perceive our services to be of high
quality, the value of our brand could be diluted, which could decrease the
attractiveness of our services to creditors and consumers. If we fail to promote
and maintain our brand, our ability to generate revenues could be negatively
affected. Moreover, if we incur significant expenses in promoting our brand
and
are unable to generate a corresponding increase in revenue as a result of our
branding efforts, our operating results would be negatively
impacted.
Currently,
we are targeting our marketing efforts towards the collection and settlement
of
overdue or defaulted consumer debt accounts generated primarily in the United
States as well as Europe. To grow our business, we will have to achieve market
penetration in this segment and expand our service offerings and client base
to
include other segments and international creditor clients. We have limited
previous experience marketing our services and may not be able to implement
our
sales and marketing initiatives. We may be unable to hire, retain, integrate
and
motivate sales and marketing personnel. Any new sales and marketing personnel
may also require a substantial period of time to become effective. There can
be
no assurance that our marketing efforts will result in our obtaining new
creditor clients or that we will be able to grow the base of creditors and
consumers who use our services.
We
may not be able to protect the intellectual property rights upon which our
business relies, including our licensed patents, trademarks, domain name,
proprietary technology and confidential information, which could result in
our
inability to utilize our technology platform, licensed patents or domain name,
without which we may not be able to provide our
services.
Our
ability to compete in our sector depends in part upon the strength of our
proprietary rights in our technologies. We consider our intellectual property
to
be critical to our viability. We do not hold patents on our consumer
debt-related product, but rather license technology for our DebtResolve system
from James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman, the co-chairmen of our company,
whose patented technology is now, and is anticipated to continue to be,
incorporated into our service offerings as a key component.
Unauthorized
use by others of our proprietary technology could result in an increase in
competing products and a reduction in our sales. We rely on patent, trademark,
trade secret and copyright laws to protect our licensed and proprietary
technology and other intellectual property. We cannot be certain, however,
that
the steps that we have taken to protect our proprietary rights to date will
provide meaningful protection from unauthorized use by others. We have initiated
litigation and could pursue additional litigation in the future to enforce
our
intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine
the
validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. However, we may not
prevail in these efforts, and we could incur substantial expenditures and divert
valuable resources in the process. In addition, many foreign countries’ laws may
not protect us from improper use of our proprietary technologies. Consequently,
we may not have adequate remedies if our proprietary rights are breached or
our
trade secrets are disclosed.
In
the future, we may be subject to intellectual property rights claims, which
are
costly to defend, could require us to pay damages and which could limit our
ability to use certain technologies in the future and thereby result in loss
of
clients and revenue.
Litigation
regarding intellectual property rights is common in the Internet and technology
industries. We expect that Internet technologies and software products and
services may be increasingly subject to third-party infringement claims as
the
number of competitors in our industry segment grows and the functionality of
products and services in different industry segments overlaps. Under our license
agreement, we have the right and obligation to control and defend against
third-party infringement claims against us with respect to the patent rights
that we license. Any claims relating to our services or intellectual property
could result in costly litigation and be time consuming to defend, divert
management’s attention and resources, cause delays in releasing new or upgrading
existing products and services or require us to enter into royalty or licensing
agreements. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available
on acceptable terms, if at all.
There
can
be no assurance that our services or intellectual property rights do not
infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties. A successful claim
of infringement against us and our failure or inability to license the infringed
or similar technology or content could prevent us from continuing our
business.
The
intellectual property rights that we license from our co-founders are limited
in
industry scope, and it is possible these limits could constrain the expansion
of
our business.
We
do not
hold patents on our consumer debt-related product, but rather license technology
for our DebtResolve system from James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman,
the
co-founders of our company, whose patented technology is now, and is anticipated
to continue to be, incorporated into our service offerings as a key component.
This license agreement limits usage of the technology to the creation of
software and other code enabling an automated system used solely for the
settlement and collection of credit card receivables and other consumer debt
and
specifically excludes the settlement and collection of insurance claims, tax
and
other municipal fees of all types. These limitations on usage of the licensed
technology could constrain the expansion of our business by limiting the
different types of debt for which our DebtResolve system can potentially be
used, and limiting the potential clients that we could service.
Potential
conflicts of interest exist with respect to the intellectual property rights
that we license from our co-founders, and it is possible our interests and
their
interests may diverge.
We
do not
hold patents on our consumer debt-related product, but rather license technology
for our DebtResolve system from James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman,
the
co-founders of our company, whose patented technology is now, and is anticipated
to continue to be, incorporated into our service offerings as a key component.
This license agreement presents the possibility of a conflict of interest in
the
event that issues arise with respect to the licensed intellectual property
rights, including the prosecution or defense of intellectual property
infringement actions, where our interests may diverge from those of Messrs.
Burchetta and Brofman. The license agreement provides that we will have the
right to control and defend or prosecute, as the case may require, the patent
rights licensed to us subject, in the case of pleadings and settlements, to
the
reasonable consent of Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman. Our interests with respect
to such pleadings and settlements may be at odds with those of Messrs. Burchetta
and Brofman, requiring them to recuse themselves from our decisions relating
to
such pleadings and settlements, or even from further involvement with our
company.
As
of
April 2008, Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman own approximately 29% of our
outstanding shares of common stock. They have controlled our company since
its
inception. Under the terms of our license agreement, Messrs. Burchetta and
Brofman will be entitled to receive stock options to purchase shares of our
common stock if and to the extent the licensed technology produces specific
levels of revenue for us. They will not be entitled receive any stock options
for other debt collection activities such as off-line settlements. Messrs.
Burchetta and Brofman have substantial influence for selecting the business
direction we take, the products and services we may develop and the mix of
businesses we may pursue. The license agreement may present Messrs. Burchetta
and Brofman with conflicts of interest.
If
we cannot compete against competitors that enter our market, demand for our
services will be limited, which would likely result in our inability to continue
our business.
We
are
aware of two companies that have software offerings that are competitive with
the DebtResolve system and which compete with us for market share. Incurrent
Solutions, Inc., a division of Online Resources Corp., announced a collection
offering in fall 2004, and Apollo Enterprises Solutions, LLC announced an online
collection offering in fall 2004. Additional competitors could emerge in the
online defaulted consumer debt market. These and other possible new competitors
may have substantially greater financial, personnel and other resources, greater
adaptability to changing market needs, longer operating histories and more
established relationships in the banking industry than we currently have. In
the
future, we may not have the resources or ability to compete. As there are few
significant barriers for entry to new providers of defaulted consumer debt
services, there can be no assurance that additional competitors with greater
resources than ours will not enter our market. Moreover, there can be no
assurance that our existing or potential creditor clients will continue to
use
our services on an increasing basis, or at all. If we are unable to develop
and
expand our business or adapt to changing market needs as well as our competitors
are able to do, now or in the future, we may not be able to continue our
business.
We
are dependent upon maintaining and expanding our computer and communications
systems. Failure to do so could result in interruptions and failures of our
services. This could have an adverse effect on our operations which would make
our services less attractive to consumers, and therefore subject us to a loss
of
revenue as a result of a possible loss of creditor clients.
Our
ability to provide high-quality client support largely depends on the efficient
and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems to
accommodate our creditor clients and the consumers who use our system. In the
terms and conditions of our standard form of licensing agreement with our
clients, we agree to make commercially reasonable efforts to maintain
uninterrupted operation of our DebtResolve system 99.99% of the time, except
for
scheduled system maintenance. In the normal course of our business, we must
record and process significant amounts of data quickly and accurately to access,
maintain and expand our DebtResolve system.
In
the
normal course of our business, we must record and process significant amounts
of
data quickly and accurately access, maintain and expand the databases we use
for
our collection activities. The temporary or permanent loss of our computer
and
telecommunications equipment and software systems, through casualty, operating
malfunction, software virus, or service provider failure, could disrupt our
operations. Any failure of our information systems, software or backup systems
would interrupt our operations and could cause us to lose clients. We are
exposed to the risk of network and Internet failure, both through our own
systems and those of our service providers. While our utilization of redundant
transmission systems can improve our network’s reliability, we cannot be certain
that our network will avoid downtime. Substantially all of our computer and
communications hardware systems are hosted in leased facilities with Cervalis
in
New York, and under the terms of our hosting service level agreement with
Cervalis, they will provide network connectivity availability 99.9% of the
time
from the connection off their backbone to our hosted infrastructure.
Our
disaster recovery plan may not be adequate and our business interruption
insurance may not adequately compensate us for losses that could occur as a
result of a network-related business interruption. The occurrence of a natural
disaster or unanticipated problems at our facilities or those of our service
providers could cause interruptions or delays in use of our DebtResolve system
and loss of data. Additionally, we rely on third parties to facilitate network
transmissions and telecommunications. We cannot assure you that these
transmissions and telecommunications will remain either reliable or secure.
Any
transmission or telecommunications problems, including computer viruses and
other cyber attacks and simultaneous failure of our information systems and
their backup systems, particularly if those problems persist or recur
frequently, could result in lost business from creditor clients and consumers.
Network failures of any sort could seriously affect our client relations,
potentially causing clients to cancel or not renew contracts with us.
Furthermore,
our business depends heavily on services provided by various local and
long-distance telephone companies. A significant increase in telephone service
costs or any significant interruption in telephone services could negatively
affect our operating results or disrupt our operations.
James
D. Burchetta possesses specialized knowledge about our business, and we would
be
adversely impacted if he were to become unavailable to
us.
We
believe that our ability to execute our business strategy will depend to a
significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of James D. Burchetta, our
Chairman and co-founder. Mr. Burchetta, who is a licensor of key
intellectual property to us, has knowledge regarding online debt collection
technology and business contacts that would be difficult to replace. If Mr.
Burchetta were to become unavailable to us, our operations would be adversely
affected. We carry term, “key-man” life insurance for our benefit in the amount
of $1,000,000 on the life of Mr. Burchetta, but not for any other officer.
This
insurance may be inadequate to compensate us for the loss of Mr. Burchetta.
Moreover, we have no insurance to compensate us for the loss of any other of
our
named executive officers or key employees.
In
addition, we could issue “blank check” preferred stock without
stockholder
approval with the effect of diluting then current stockholder interests and
impairing their voting rights, and provisions in our charter documents and
under
Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider
favorable.
Our
certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 10,000,000 shares
of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences as
may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. Accordingly,
our
board of directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue a series
of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other
rights which could dilute the interest of, or impair the voting power of, our
common stockholders. The issuance of a series of preferred stock could be used
as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control. For
example, it would be possible for our board of directors to issue preferred
stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success
of any attempt to change control of our company. In addition, advanced notice
is
required prior to stockholder proposals.
Delaware
law also could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us.
Specifically, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may have
an
anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by
our
board of directors, including discouraging attempts that might result in a
premium over the market price for the shares of common stock held by our
stockholders.
Risks
Related to Our Industry
The
ability of our DebtResolve system clients and First Performance Recovery
Corporation to recover and enforce defaulted consumer debt may be limited under
federal, state, local and foreign laws, which would negatively impact our
revenues.
Federal,
state, local and foreign laws may limit our creditor clients’ and First
Performance’s ability to recover and enforce defaulted consumer debt. Additional
consumer protection and privacy protection laws may be enacted that would impose
additional requirements on the enforcement and collection of consumer debt.
Any
new laws, rules or regulations that may be adopted, as well as existing consumer
protection and privacy protection laws, may adversely affect our ability to
settle defaulted consumer debt accounts on behalf of our clients and could
result in decreased revenues to us. We cannot predict if or how any future
legislation would impact our business or our clients. In addition, we cannot
predict how foreign laws will impact our ability to expand our business
internationally or the cost of such expansion. Our failure to comply with any
current or future applicable laws or regulations could limit our ability to
settle defaulted consumer debt claims on behalf of our clients, which could
adversely affect our revenues.
For
all of our businesses, government regulation and legal uncertainties regarding
consumer credit and debt collection practices may require us to incur
significant expenses in complying with any new regulations.
A
number
of our existing and potential creditor clients, such as banks and credit card
issuers, operate in highly regulated industries. We are impacted by consumer
credit and debt collection practices laws, both in the United States and abroad.
The relationship of a consumer and a creditor is extensively regulated by
federal, state, local and foreign consumer credit and protection laws and
regulations. Governing laws include consumer plain English and disclosure laws,
the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the
Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Federal
Truth in Lending Act (including the Fair Credit Billing Act amendments), the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and state law counterparts, the Federal
Reserve Board’s implementation of Regulation Z, the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act, and state unfair and deceptive acts and practices laws. Failure
of these parties to comply with applicable federal, state, local and foreign
laws and regulations could have a negative impact on us. For example, applicable
laws and regulations may limit our ability to collect amounts owing with respect
to defaulted consumer debt accounts, regardless of any act or omission on our
part. We cannot assure you that any indemnities received from the financial
institutions which originated the consumer debt account will be adequate to
protect us from liability to consumers. Any new laws or rulings that may be
adopted, and existing consumer credit and protection laws, may adversely affect
our ability to collect and settle defaulted consumer debt accounts. In addition,
any failure on our part to comply with such requirements could adversely affect
our ability to settle defaulted consumer debt accounts and result in liability.
In addition, state or foreign regulators may take the position that our
DebtResolve system effectively constitutes the collection of debts that is
subject to licensing and other laws regulating the activities of collection
agencies. If so, and despite the fact that First Performance is licensed as
a
collection agency in most of the jurisdictions in which we currently operate,
we
may need to obtain licenses from such states, or such foreign countries where
we
may engage in our DebtResolve system business. Until licensed, we will not
be
able to lawfully deal with consumers in such states or foreign countries.
Moreover, we will likely have to incur expenses in obtaining licenses, including
applications fees and post statutorily required bonds for each
license.
We
face potential liability that arises from our handling and storage of personal
consumer information concerning disputed claims and other privacy concerns.
Any
penetration of our network security or other misappropriation of consumers’
personal information could subject us to liability. Other potential misuses
of
personal information, such as for unauthorized marketing purposes, could also
result in claims against us. These claims could result in litigation. In
addition, the Federal Trade Commission and several states have investigated
the
use by certain Internet companies of personal information. We could incur
unanticipated expenses, especially in connection with our settlement database,
if and when new regulations regarding the use of personal information are
enacted.
In
addition, pursuant to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, our financial institution
clients are required to include in their contracts with us that we have
appropriate data security standards in place. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
stipulates that we must protect against unauthorized access to, or use of,
consumer debtor information that could be detrimentally used against or result
in substantial inconvenience to any consumer debtor. Detrimental use or
substantial inconvenience is most likely to result from improper access to
sensitive consumer debtor information because this type of information is most
likely to be misused, as in the commission of identity theft. We believe we
have
adequate policies and procedures in place to protect this information; however,
if we experience a data security breach that results in any penetration of
our
network security or other misappropriation of consumers’ personal information,
or if we have an inadequate data security program in place, our financial
institution clients may consider us to be in breach of our agreements with
them.
Government
regulation and legal uncertainties regarding the Internet may require us to
incur significant expenses in complying with any new regulations.
The
laws
and regulations applicable to the Internet and our services are evolving and
unclear and could damage our business. Due to the increasing popularity and
use
of the Internet, it is possible that laws and regulations may be adopted,
covering issues such as user privacy, pricing, taxation, content regulation,
quality of products and services, and intellectual property ownership and
infringement. This legislation could expose us to substantial liability or
require us to incur significant expenses in complying with any new regulations.
Increased regulation or the imposition of access fees could substantially
increase the costs of communicating on the Internet, potentially decreasing
the
demand for our services. A number of proposals have been made at the federal,
state and local level and in foreign countries that would impose additional
taxes on the sale of goods and services over the Internet. Such proposals,
if
adopted, could adversely affect us. Moreover, the applicability to the Internet
of existing laws governing issues such as personal privacy is uncertain. We
may
be subject to claims that our services violate such laws. Any new legislation
or
regulation in the United States or abroad or the application of existing laws
and regulations to the Internet could adversely affect our business.
Compliance
with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may
result in additional expenses, which as a smaller public company may be
disproportionately high.
Changing
laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public
disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, new SEC regulations and stock
market rules, are creating uncertainty for small capitalization companies like
us. These new and changing laws, regulations and standards are subject to
varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and
as a
result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance
is
provided by regulatory and governing bodies, which could result in continuing
uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by
ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. As a result, our
efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards will likely
result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of
management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance
activities. In particular, our efforts to comply with Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the related regulations regarding our required assessment
of our internal controls over financial reporting and our independent registered
public accounting firm’s audit of that assessment will require the commitment of
significant financial and managerial resources. In addition, recent
pronouncements by the Financial Accounting Standards Board will require a
significant commitment of resources. We expect these efforts to require the
continued commitment of significant resources.
Our
industry is highly competitive, and we may be unable to continue to compete
successfully with businesses that may have greater resources than we
have.
We
face
competition from a wide range of collection and financial services companies
that may have substantially greater financial, personnel and other resources,
greater adaptability to changing market needs and more established relationships
in our industry than we currently have. We also compete with traditional
contingency collection agencies and in-house recovery departments. Competitive
pressures adversely affect the availability and cost of qualified recovery
personnel. If we are unable to develop and expand our business or adapt to
changing market needs as well as our current or future competitors, we may
experience reduced profitability.
We
are subject to ongoing risks of litigation, including individual and class
actions under consumer credit, collections, employment, securities and other
laws.
We
operate in an extremely litigious climate, and we are currently and may in
the
future be named as defendants in litigation, including individual and class
actions under consumer credit, collections, employment, securities and other
laws.
In
the
past, securities class-action litigation has often been filed against a company
after a period of volatility in the market price of its stock. Defending a
lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and divert management’s
attention from the operation of our business. The use of certain collection
strategies could be restricted if class-action plaintiffs were to prevail in
their claims. In addition, insurance costs continue to increase significantly
and policy deductibles also have increased. All of these factors could have
an
adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of
operations.
We
may not be able to hire and retain enough sufficiently trained employees to
support our operations, and/or we may experience high rates of personnel
turnover.
Our
industry is very labor-intensive, and companies in our industry typically
experience a high rate of employee turnover. We generally compete for qualified
personnel with companies in our business and in the collection agency,
teleservices and telemarketing industries. We will not be able to service our
clients’ receivables effectively, continue our growth or operate profitably if
we cannot hire and retain qualified collection personnel. Further, high turnover
rate among our employees increases our recruiting and training costs and may
limit the number of experienced collection personnel available to service our
receivables. Our newer employees tend to be less productive and generally
produce the greatest rate of personnel turnover. If the turnover rate among
our
employees increases, we will have fewer experienced employees available to
service our receivables, which could reduce collections and therefore result
in
lower revenues and earnings.
We
may not be able to successfully anticipate, invest in or adopt technological
advances within our industry.
Our
business relies on computer and telecommunications technologies, and our ability
to integrate new technologies into our business is essential to our competitive
position and our success. We may not be successful in anticipating, managing,
or
adopting technological changes on a timely basis. Computer and
telecommunications technologies are evolving rapidly and are characterized
by
short product life cycles.
While
we
believe that our existing information systems are sufficient to meet our current
and foreseeable demands and continued expansion, our future growth may require
additional investment in these systems. We depend on having the capital
resources necessary to invest in new technologies to service receivables. We
cannot assure you that we will have adequate capital resources
available.
We
may not be able to anticipate, manage or adopt technological advances within
our
industry, which could result in our services becoming obsolete and no longer
in
demand.
Our
business relies on computer and telecommunications technologies. Our ability
to
integrate these technologies into our business is essential to our competitive
position and our ability to execute our business strategy. Computer and
telecommunications technologies are evolving rapidly and are characterized
by
short product life cycles. We may not be able to anticipate, manage or adopt
technological changes on a timely basis. While we believe that our existing
information systems are sufficient to meet our current demands and continued
expansion, our future growth may require additional investment in these systems
so we are not left with obsolete computer and telecommunications technologies.
We depend on having the capital resources necessary to invest in new
technologies for our business. We cannot assure you that adequate capital
resources will be available to us at the appropriate time.
Risks
Related to the Economy
A
poor performance by the economy may adversely impact our
business.
When
economic conditions deteriorate, more borrowers may become delinquent on their
consumer debt. However, while volumes of debt to settle may rise, borrowers
have
less ability in a downturn to make payment arrangements to pay their delinquent
or defaulted debt. As a result, our revenues may decline, or it may be more
costly to generate the same revenue levels, resulting in reduced earnings.
A
poor economy may also slow borrowing or may curb lenders willingness to provide
credit, which results in lower business levels.
ITEM
2. Description of Property
We
lease
approximately 4,900 square feet of office space at 707 Westchester Avenue,
Suite
L-7, White Plains, New York 10604. We lease this space for $10,274 per month
on
a straight-line basis under a non-cancelable lease through July
2010.
In
conjunction with the acquisition of First Performance Corporation and its
subsidiary, First Performance Recovery Corporation, we assumed responsibility
for the existing First Performance leases in Nevada and Florida. The Nevada
facility consists of 13,708 square feet at 600 Pilot Road, Las Vegas, Nevada
89119. We lease this space for $20,599 per month under a non-cancelable lease
through July 31, 2014. The Florida facility consisted of 12,415 square feet
at
4901 N.W. 17
th
Way,
Suite 201, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309. We leased this space for $22,481
per
month (less a $5,000 abatement in effect in early 2007) under a non-cancelable
lease through January 31, 2009. However, on May 31, 2007, we ceased operations
in Florida and relinquished the space on June 30, 2007. An agreement was reached
with the landlord to permit cancellation of the lease for payment of three
months rent. We completed these payments on September 30, 2007.
ITEM
3. Legal Proceedings
Lawsuit
against Apollo
On
January
8, 2007, we filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apollo Enterprise
Solutions, LLC (“Apollo”) in federal court in New Jersey. The suit alleged
that Apollo’s online debt collection system infringed one or more claims of
the patents-in-suit, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,330,551 and 6,954,741. We
have exclusive rights under these and certain other patents with respect to
the settlement of consumer debt.
On
November, 5, 2007, Debt Resolve and Apollo jointly announced that they had
reached a settlement of the pending patent infringement lawsuit. The parties
came to agreement that Apollo’s system, as represented by Apollo, does not
infringe on Debt Resolve’s United States Patents: Nos. 6,330,551 and 6,954,741,
both entitled Computerized Dispute Resolution System and Method. The parties
further agreed to respect each other’s intellectual property to the extent it is
validly patent protected with the parties reserving all of their legal
rights.
ITEM
4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
We
did
not submit any matters to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter
of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.
PART
II.
ITEM
5. Market for Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Small Business
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market
Information
Our
shares
of
common stock
are
traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol
DRV.
The
following table sets forth the high and low closing prices for our common stock
for the periods indicated as reported by the American Stock
Exchange:
|
|
Year
ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
Quarter
|
|
High
|
|
Low
|
|
High
|
|
Low
|
|
First
|
|
$
|
4.40
|
|
$
|
3.53
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
Second
|
|
$
|
5.05
|
|
$
|
2.48
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Third
|
|
$
|
3.61
|
|
$
|
1.76
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
|
|
$
|
2.50
|
|
$
|
0.84
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
(beginning November 2, 2006)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
4.98
|
|
$
|
3.50
|
|
For
the
period from January 1, 2008 to April 11, 2008, the high and low closing prices
for our common stock were $2.44 and $0.77, respectively.
The
market information for the year ended December 31, 2006
begins
on
November 2, 2006, the date of our initial public offering. Prior to such time,
there was no trading of our shares.
As
of
April 11, 2008, there were approximately 1,000 record holders of our common
stock.
On
January 7, 2008, we received a deficiency letter from the American Stock
Exchange stating that we were not in compliance with specific provisions of
the
American Stock Exchange continued listing standards in that we are not in
compliance with Section 1003(a)(iv) of the American Stock Exchange Company
Guide. We are working to address this deficiency. We presented a 90-day plan
that the Exchange accepted and continued our listing pending completion of
the
plan. We have until Friday, April 18, 2008 to complete our plan, which is
principally based on securing the funding committed by Harmonie International
on
March 31, 2008. To date, we have not yet received the funding.
Dividends
We
have
not to date, nor do we expect to pay in the future, a dividend on our common
stock. The payment of dividends on our common stock is within the
discretion of our
board
of
directors
,
subject
to our
certificate
of
incorporation
.
We
intend to retain any earnings for use in our operations and the expansion of
our
business. Payment of dividends in the future will depend on our future earnings,
future capital needs and our operating and financial condition, among other
factors.
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
There
were no sales of our unregistered securities, other than as reported in prior
reports on Forms 10-KSB, 10-QSB or 8-K, for the three years ended December
31,
2007.
Purchases
of Equity Securities by the Small Business Issuer and Affiliated
Purchasers
We
did
not repurchase any shares of our common stock in the fourth quarter of the
year
ended December 31, 2007.
ITEM
6. Management’s Discussion and Analysis or Plan of
Operation
The
following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should
be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes included
in this report. This discussion includes forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, our actual results may
differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
Overview
Prior
to
January 19, 2007, we were a development stage company.
On
January 19, 2007, we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of First
Performance Corporation, a Nevada corporation (“First Performance”), and its
wholly-owned subsidiary, First Performance Recovery Corporation, pursuant to
a
Stock Purchase Agreement dated January 19, 2007. As a result, we are no longer
considered a development stage entity.
Since
completing initial product development in early 2004, our primary business
has
been providing a software solution to consumer lenders or those collecting
on
those loans based on our proprietary DebtResolve system, our Internet-based
bidding system that facilitates the settlement and collection of defaulted
consumer debt via the Internet. We have marketed our service primarily to
consumer credit card issuers, collection agencies, collection law firms and
the
buyers of defaulted debt in the United States and Europe. We intend to market
our service to other segments served by the collections industry worldwide.
For
example, we believe that our system will be especially valuable for the
collection of low balance debt, such as that held by utility companies and
online service providers, where the cost of traditionally labor intensive
collection efforts may exceed the value collected. We also intend to pursue
past-due Internet-related debt, such as that held by sellers of sales and
services online. We believe that consumers who incurred their debt over the
Internet will be likely to respond favorably to an Internet-based collection
solution. In addition, creditors of Internet-related debt usually have access
to
debtors’ e-mail addresses, facilitating the contact of debtors directly by
e-mail. We believe that expanding to more recently past-due portfolios of such
debt will result in higher settlement volumes, improving our clients’
profitability by increasing their collections while reducing their cost of
collections. We do not anticipate any material incremental costs associated
with
developing our capabilities and marketing to these creditors, as our existing
DebtResolve system can already handle this type of debt, and we make contact
with these creditors in our normal course of business.
We
have
prepared for our entry into the European marketplace by reviewing our mode
of
business and modifying our contracts to comply with appropriate European
privacy, debtor protection and other applicable regulations. We expect that
initially, our expense associated with servicing our United Kingdom and other
potential European clients will be minimal, consisting primarily of travel
expense to meet with those clients and additional legal fees, as our European
contracts, although already written to conform to European regulations, may
require customization. We have begun investigation of, and negotiations with,
companies who may provide local, outsourced European customer service support
for us on an as needed basis, the expense of which will be variable with the
level of business activity. In the United Kingdom, we have engaged an agent
to
represent us for sales and customer service for a flat monthly fee. We recently
announced the signing of our first European customer, a U.K.-based large
collection agency. We may incur additional costs, which we cannot anticipate
at
this time, if we expand into Canada and other countries.
Our
revenues to date have been insufficient to fund our operations. We have financed
our activities to date through our management’s contributions of cash, the
forgiveness of royalty and consulting fees, the proceeds from sales of our
common stock in private placement financings, the proceeds of our convertible
promissory notes in three private financings, short-term borrowings from
previous investors or related parties and the proceeds from the sale of our
common stock in our initial public offering. In connection with our marketing
and client support goals, we expect our operating expenses to grow as we employ
additional technicians, sales people and client support representatives. We
expect that salaries and other compensation expenses will continue to be our
largest category of expense, while travel, legal and other sales and marketing
expenses will grow as we expand our sales, marketing and support capabilities.
Effective utilization of our system will require a change in thinking on the
part of the collection industry, but we believe the effort will result in new
collection benchmarks. We intend to provide detailed advice and hands-on
assistance to clients to help them make the transition to our system.
Our
current contracts provide that we will earn revenue based on a percentage of
the
amount of debt collected from accounts submitted on our DebtResolve system,
from
flat fees per settlement achieved or a flat monthly license fee. Although other
revenue models have been proposed, most revenue earned to date has been
determined using these methods, and such revenue is recognized when the
settlement amount of debt is collected by our client. For the early adopters
of
our system, we waived set-up fees and other transactional fees that we
anticipate charging on a going-forward basis. While the percent of debt
collected will continue to be a revenue recognition method going forward, other
payment models are also being offered to clients and may possibly become our
preferred revenue model. Most contracts currently in process include provisions
for set up fees and base revenue on a monthly licensing fee, in the aggregate
or
per account, with some contracts having a small transaction fee on debt
settlement as well. In addition, with respect to our DR Prevent ™ module, which
settles consumer debt at earlier stages, we expect that a licensing fee per
account on our system, and/or the hybrid revenue model which will include both
fees per account and transaction fees at settlement, may become the preferred
revenue methods. As we expand our knowledge of the industry, we have become
aware that different revenue models may be more appropriate for the individual
circumstances of our potential clients, and our expanded choice of revenue
models reflects that knowledge.
We
also
entered into the business of purchasing and collecting debt. Through our
subsidiary, DRV Capital LLC, and its single-purpose subsidiary, EAR Capital
I,
LLC, we bought two portfolios of charged-off debt at a significant discount
to
their face value and, through subcontracted, licensed debt collectors, attempted
to collect on that debt by utilizing both our DebtResolve system and also
traditional collection methods. On December 22, 2006, we, EAR Capital I, LLC,
as
borrower, and DRV Capital LLC, as servicer, entered into a $20.0 million secured
debt financing facility with Sheridan Asset Management, LLC, (“Sheridan”) as
lender, to finance the purchase of these and other distressed consumer debt
portfolios from time to time. We purchased the portfolios in an effort to
develop a new paradigm for the collection of such debts as well as develop
“best
practice” usage methods, which we can then share with our core clients, in
addition to the actual revenues earned from this venture by buying and settling
these debts. On October 15, 2007, we notified our debt buying business partners
that we would no longer be buying portfolios of debt on the open market, since
many of our current and future partners are debt buyers. As of December 31,
2007, all loans have been repaid to Sheridan, and the agreement expired
according to its terms on December 21, 2007. In the future, we may use our
DRV
Capital entity to participate with one or more of our debt buying customers
in
purchasing a percentage of their portfolio, for the purpose of getting a larger
percentage of the portfolio to collect and to enhance the introduction of our
DebtResolve system to new debt buying clients. We have no plans at the present
time to engage in this activity.
Revenue
streams associated with this business for 2007 included servicing fees earned
and paid, interest earned on purchased debt and paid to investment partners,
and
any losses on the resale of the remaining balances. The results of operations
for DRV Capital have been treated as discontinued operations in the financial
statements for the year ending December 31, 2007.
In
January 2007, we purchased the outstanding common stock of First Performance
Corporation and, as a result, we are no longer in the development stage as
of
the date of the acquisition.. First Performance Corporation and its subsidiary,
First Performance Recovery Corp., are collection agencies that represent both
regional and national credit grantors from such diverse industries as retail,
bankcard, oil cards, mortgage and auto. By entering this business directly,
we
have signaled our intention to become a significant player in the accounts
receivable management industry. We believe that through a mixture of both
traditional and our innovative, technologically-driven collection methods,
we
can achieve superior returns. Due to the loss of four major clients at First
Performance during the first nine months of 2007, we performed two interim
impairment analyses in accordance with SFAS 142. As a result of these analyses,
we recorded impairment charges aggregating $1,206,335 during the year ended
December 31, 2007.
Revenue
streams associated with this business include contingency fee revenue on
recovery of past due consumer debt and non-sufficient funds fees on returned
checks.
On
April
30, 2007, we, Credint Holdings, LLC (“Credint Holdings”) and the holders of all
of the limited liability membership interests of Credint Holdings entered into
a
securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) for us to acquire 100%
of the outstanding limited liability company membership interests of Creditors
Interchange Receivables Management, LLC (“Creditors Interchange”), an accounts
receivable management agency and wholly-owned subsidiary of Credint Holdings.
Prior to this agreement, an agreement with Creditors Interchange for the use
by
Creditors Interchange of our DebtResolve system, and a management services
agreement pursuant to which Creditors Interchange provided management consulting
services to First Performance were in place. On September 24, 2007, we and
the
other parties terminated the Purchase Agreement. During the year ended December
31, 2007, we charged $959,811 to terminated acquisition costs as a result of
not
completing this transaction.
For
the
year ending December 31, 2007, we had inadequate revenues and incurred a
net loss of $12,143,842 from continuing operations. Cash used in operating
and investing activities of continuing operations was $7,517,851 for the year
ended December 31, 2007. Based upon projected operating expenses, we believe
that our working capital as of the date of this report may not be
sufficient to fund our plan of operations for the next twelve months. The
aforementioned factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue
as
a going concern.
The
Company needs to raise additional capital in order to be able to accomplish
its
business plan objectives. The Company has historically satisfied its
capital needs primarily from the sale of debt and equity securities.
Management of the Company is continuing its efforts to secure additional
funds through debt and/or equity instruments. Management believes that it
will
be successful in obtaining additional financing; however, no assurance can
be
provided that the Company will be able to do so. There is no assurance that
these funds will be sufficient to enable the Company to attain profitable
operations or continue as a going concern. To the extent that the Company
is unsuccessful, the Company may need to curtail its operations and implement
a
plan to extend payables and reduce overhead until sufficient additional capital
is raised to support further operations. There can be no assurance that such
a
plan will be successful. These consolidated financial statements do not include
any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Subsequent
to December 31, 2007, the Company has secured additional financing from three
related parties in the aggregate amount of $167,000. In addition, the
Company has also entered into various notes payable with a bank and other
investors in the aggregate amount of $848,000. On March 31, 2008, the
Company entered into a private placement agreement with Harmonie International
LLC (“Harmonie”) for $7,000,000. As of April 14, 2008, funds under this
agreement have not been received and there is no assurance that the Company
will
receive such proceeds.
Results
of Operations
Year
ended December 31, 2007 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2006
Revenues
Revenues
totaled $2,845,823 and $98,042 for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006,
respectively. We earned revenue during the year ended December 31, 2007 from
percentage fees earned on debt collected by our collection agency, as a percent
of debt collected at collection agencies, collection law firms, a lender and
two
banks that implemented our online system, and as a flat fee per settlement
with
some clients. Of the revenue earned during the year ended December 31, 2007,
$2,778,374 was earned as fees on debt collected at our collection agency,
$59,949 was contingency fee income, based on a percentage of the amount of
debt
collected from accounts placed on our online system or settlement fees, and
$7,500 was start up fee income. Of the revenue earned during the year ended
December 31, 2006, $25,000 was earned for fees charged to license our software
for the period, $3,600 was start up fee income and $69,442 was contingency
fee
income, based on a percentage of the amount of debt collected from accounts
placed on our online system.
Costs
and Expenses
Payroll
and related expenses.
Payroll
and related expenses totaled $7,038,243 for the year ended December 31, 2007,
an
increase of $1,514,184 over payroll and related expenses of $5,524,059 for
the
year ended December 31, 2006. This increase was due to payroll and related
expenses for our First Performance subsidiary acquired in 2007, which totaled
$3,128,655 for the twelve month period. Internet (Debt Resolve) payroll and
related expenses were reduced to $3,909,589 for the year ended December 31,
2007
from $5,524,059 for the year ended December 31, 2006, a reduction of $1,614,470.
The reduction occurred primarily in non-cash stock based compensation expense
of
$2,207,950 for the year ended December 31, 2007 and $2,839,562 for the year
ended December 31, 2006, a decrease of $631,612, reflecting fewer grants to
employees in 2007, and allocations in 2007 from Debt Resolve to both First
Performance and our discontinued subsidiary DRV Capital of $680,525 in 2007,
with none in 2006. Importantly, salaries also decreased in 2007 to $1,891,928
from $2,284,092 in 2006, a savings of $392,464 as a result of aggressive cost
management in the fourth quarter of 2007. Internet business cash (excluding
non-cash stock based compensation and inter-company allocations) payroll and
related expenses for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 were $2,382,164
and $2,684,497, respectively, an decrease of $302,333, or 11.3% due to staff
reductions. Salary and commission expenses were $4,168,460 for the year ended
December 31, 2007, an increase of $1,882,196 over salary and commission expenses
of $2,286,264 for the year ended December 31, 2006, entirely due to the addition
of First Performance. In addition, the staffing increase related to the First
Performance acquisition resulted in payroll tax expense of $355,682 for the
year
ended December 31, 2007, an increase of $232,600 over payroll tax expense of
$123,082 for the year ended December 31, 2006 and an increase in health
insurance expense to $334,972 for the year ended December 31, 2007 from $148,163
in the year ended December 31, 2006, an increase of $186,809. Other
miscellaneous salary related expenses were $178,833 in payroll expenses for
the
year ended December 31, 2007 as compared with $124,765 for the year ended
December 31, 2006, an increase of $54,068 due to an increase in severance
expenses as cost reduction accelerated in 2007.
General
and administrative expenses.
General
and administrative expenses amounted to $5,395,224 for the year ended December
31, 2007, as compared to $3,308,634 for the year ended December 31, 2006, an
increase of $2,086,590. This increase was primarily due to the acquisition
of
First Performance, which added $2,114,472 to general and administrative expenses
for the twelve month period. In addition, a charge of $68,329 for disposal
of
fixed assets was incurred by First Performance. Internet (Debt Resolve) general
and administrative expenses decreased by $151,867 due to cost savings measures
taken in the third and fourth quarters of 2007. The expense for stock based
compensation for stock options granted to consultants for the year ended
December 31, 2007 was $271,230, as compared with stock based compensation in
the
amount of $1,468,550 for the year ended December 31, 2006. Also, for the year
ended December 31, 2007, consulting fees totaled $842,680, as compared with
$244,294 in consulting fees for the year ended December 31, 2006, resulting
in
an increase of $598,386, primarily related to hiring outside consultants to
assist in selling the DebtResolve system in the United States and the United
Kingdom, and to assist in the integration and management of our new First
Performance subsidiary, as well as costs related to the August 2007 private
placement. Legal fees increased by $488,105 to $860,161 for the year ended
December 31, 2007 from $372,056 for the year ended December 31, 2006, primarily
due to the patent litigation against Apollo Enterprise Solutions. The expenses
for occupancy, telecommunications, travel and office supplies in the year ended
December 31, 2007 were $509,725, $532,566, $284,921 and $201,411, respectively,
as compared with expenses of $123,328, $217,193, $222,419 and $20,891 for
occupancy, telecommunications, travel and office supplies, respectively, for
the
year ended December 31, 2006, all due almost exclusively to the addition of
First Performance and additional travel in support of the Creditors Interchange
acquisition. Marketing expenses increased by $162,410 to $313,596 during the
year ended December 31, 2007 from $151,186 for the year ended December 31,
2006,
primarily due to our expanded efforts to market the DebtResolve system. Direct
collection costs of First Performance were $513,323 during the year ended
December 31, 2007 and $0 for the year ended December 31, 2006, as First
Performance began operations with us in January, 2007. Other general operating
costs for the year ended December 31, 2007, including insurance and accounting
expenses, amounted to $1,030,931, as compared with $435,139 for the year ended
December 31, 2006, primarily due to the acquisition of First
Performance.
Terminated
acquisition costs.
During
the year ended December 31, 2007, we incurred $959,811 in costs associated
with
our efforts to acquire Creditors Interchange. We terminated our Securities
Purchase Agreement on September 24, 2007 and charged the accumulated costs
to
terminated acquisition costs during the year ended December 31,
2007.
Patent
licensing expense - related parties.
For
the
year ended December 31, 2006, we incurred $6,828,453 in expense for options
issued to our co-founders in payment for licensing rights to their
patent.
Impairment
of goodwill and intangibles.
For the
year ended December 31, 2007, an expense of $1,206,335 was recorded related
to
the impairment of purchased intangibles and goodwill at First
Performance.
Depreciation
and amortization expense
.
For the
year ended December 31, 2007, we recorded depreciation expense of $150,038
and
an expense of $77,022 for the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection
with the acquisition of First Performance Corporation in January 2007. For
the
year ended December 31, 2006 we had no amortization expense, but recorded
depreciation expense of $51,728.
Interest
expense.
We
recorded interest expense
,
net of
interest income
of $22,466 from continuing operations for the year ended
December 31, 2007, compared to interest expense of $778,243 for the year ended
December 31, 2006. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2007
includes interest on our lines of credit, one short term note and one long
term
note, and interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2006 includes
interest accrued on our 7% convertible notes and other short term
notes.
Amortization
of deferred debt discount.
Amortization
expense of $132,400 was incurred for the year ended December 31, 2007 for
the
amortization of the beneficial conversion feature of our line of credit and
note
offerings. Amortization expense of $4,641,985 was incurred for the year ended
December 31, 2006 for the amortization of the value of the beneficial conversion
feature and deferred debt discount associated with our convertible note
offerings. These convertible note offerings were repaid during 2006 and the
related deferred debt discount was fully amortized.
Amortization
of deferred financing costs.
Amortization
expense of $665,105 was incurred for the year ended December 31, 2006 for the
amortization of deferred financing costs associated with our convertible note
offerings. These convertible note offerings were repaid in 2006 and the related
deferred financing costs were fully amortized.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
As
of
December 31, 2007, we had a working capital deficiency in the amount of
$3,112,500, and cash and cash equivalents totaling $0. We incurred a net
loss of
$12,143,832 for continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2007.
Net
cash used in operating and investing activities for continuing operations
was
$7,517,851 for the year ended December 31, 2007. Cash flow provided by financing
activities for continuing operations was $3,044,365 for the year ended December
31, 2007. Our working capital as of the date of this report is negative and
is
not sufficient to fund our plan of operations for the next year. The
aforementioned factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue
as
a going concern.
The
Company needs to raise additional capital in order to be able to accomplish
its
business plan objectives. The Company has historically satisfied its
capital needs primarily from the sale of debt and equity securities.
Management of the Company is continuing its efforts to secure additional
funds through debt and/or equity instruments. Management believes that it
will
be successful in obtaining additional financing; however, no assurance can
be
provided that the Company will be able to do so. There is no assurance that
these funds will be sufficient to enable the Company to attain profitable
operations or continue as a going concern. To the extent that the Company
is unsuccessful, the Company may need to curtail its operations and implement
a
plan to extend payables and reduce overhead until sufficient additional capital
is raised to support further operations. There can be no assurance that such
a
plan will be successful. These consolidated financial statements do not include
any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Subsequent
to December 31, 2007, the Company has secured additional financing from three
related parties in the aggregate amount of $167,000. In addition, the
Company has also entered into various notes payable with a bank and other
investors in the aggregate amount of $848,000. On March 31, 2008, the
Company entered into a private placement agreement with Harmonie International
LLC (“Harmonie”) for $7,000,000. As of April 14, 2008, funds under this
agreement have not been received and there is no assurance that the Company
will
receive such proceeds.
In
the
second and fourth quarters of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, we reduced
overhead and extended payables.
On
April
4, 2008, we filed a Form 8-K announcing the closing of a financing transaction
for $7,000,000 with Harmonie International LLC for the purchase of common stock
and warrants in a private placement. The shares and warrants were valued at
$2.36 per share, a premium to the market on the day of closing, March 31, 2008.
In addition, we agreed to take our best efforts to cause William Donahue,
President and CEO of Harmonie, to become a Director of Debt Resolve at the
next
meeting of the Board of Directors. As of April 14, 2008, we have not received
any proceeds from this transaction.
Discontinued
Operations
On
December 31, 2007, we treated the results of DRV Capital and its wholly-owned
subsidiary, EAR Capital I, LLC as discontinued operations. DRV Capital purchased
its first two portfolios in January, 2007. On October 15, 2007, we ceased
operations of DRV Capital, sold all remaining portfolios and repaid all
outstanding portfolio related indebtedness. DRV Capital had revenue of $3,334
for the year ended December 31, 2007. It also had payroll and related expenses
of $207,654 and general and administrative expense of $209,302 for the year
ended December 31, 2007. In addition, DRV Capital incurred interest expense
of
$38,463 for the year ended December 31, 2007. We have no plans at this time
to
reenter the debt buying business.
Off-
B
alance
S
heet
A
rrangements
As
of the
date of this report, we have not entered into any transactions with
unconsolidated entities in which we have financial guarantees, subordinated
retained interests, derivative instruments or other contingent arrangements
that
expose us to material continuing risks, contingent liabilities or any other
obligations under a variable interest in an unconsolidated entity that provides
us with financing, liquidity, market risk or credit risk support.
Impact
of Inflation
We
believe that inflation has not had a material impact on our results of
operations for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006. We cannot assure
you
that future inflation will not have an adverse impact on our operating results
and financial condition.
Application
of C
ritical
A
ccounting
P
olicies
and Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States requires our management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial
statements and the accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions are
based
on our management’s judgment and available information and, consequently, actual
results could be different from these estimates. The significant accounting
policies that we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding
and
evaluating our reported financial results are as follows:
Accounts
Receivable
We
extend
credit to large and mid-size companies for collection services. We have
concentrations of credit risk as 76% of the balance of accounts receivable
at
December 31, 2007 consists of only three customers. At December 31, 2007,
accounts receivable from the three largest accounts amounted to approximately
$34,633 (41%), $16,277 (19%) and $13,340 (16%), respectively. We do not
generally require collateral or other security to support customer receivables.
Accounts receivable are carried at their estimated collectible amounts. Accounts
receivable are periodically evaluated for collectibility and the allowance
for
doubtful accounts is adjusted accordingly. Our management determines
collectibility based on their experience and knowledge of the
customers.
Business
Combinations
In
accordance with business combination accounting, we allocate the purchase price
of acquired companies to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and
liabilities assumed, based on their estimated fair values. We engaged a
third-party appraisal firm to assist our management in determining the fair
values of First Performance. Such a valuation requires our management to make
significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible
assets.
Our
management makes estimates of fair values based upon assumptions believed to
be
reasonable. These estimates are based on historical experience and information
obtained from the management of the acquired companies. Critical estimates
in
valuing certain of the intangible assets include but are not limited to: future
expected cash flows from customer relationships and market position, as well
as
assumptions about the period of time the acquired trade names will continue
to
be used in the combined company's product portfolio; and discount rates. These
estimates are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. Assumptions may be
incomplete or inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may occur
which may affect the accuracy or validity of such assumptions, estimates or
actual results.
Goodwill
and Intangible Assets
We
account for goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 141, “Business Combinations” (“SFAS
141”) and SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” (“SFAS 142”).
Under SFAS 142, goodwill and intangibles that are deemed to have indefinite
lives are no longer amortized but, instead, are to be reviewed at least annually
for impairment. Application of the goodwill impairment test requires judgment,
including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets and
liabilities to reporting units, assigning goodwill to reporting units, and
determining the fair value. Significant judgments required to estimate the
fair
value of reporting units include estimating future cash flows, determining
appropriate discount rates and other assumptions. Changes in these estimates
and
assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or
goodwill impairment for each reporting unit. Intangible assets will be amortized
over their estimated useful lives. We performed an analysis of our goodwill
and
intangible assets in accordance with SFAS 142 as of June 30, 2007 and determined
that an impairment charge was necessary. We performed a further analysis of
our
intangible assets as of September 30, 2007 and determined that an additional
impairment charge was necessary.
We
performed our annual impairment test at December 31, 2007 and determined that
no
additional impairment was necessary.
Income
Taxes
Effective
January 1, 2007, we adopted the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards
Board (“FASB”) Interpretation Number 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income
Taxes, an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109,” (“FIN 48”). FIN 48
prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial
statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to
be
taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position
must
be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities.
Differences between tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return
and the benefit recognized and measured pursuant to the interpretation are
referred to as “unrecognized benefits.” A liability is recognized (or amount of
net operating loss carry forward or amount of tax refundable is reduced) for
an
unrecognized tax benefit because it represents an enterprise’s potential future
obligation to the taxing authority for a tax position that was not recognized
as
a result of applying the provisions of FIN 48.
In
accordance with FIN 48, interest costs related to unrecognized tax benefits
are
required to be calculated (if applicable) and would be classified as “Interest
expense, net” in the consolidated statements of operations. Penalties would be
recognized as a component of “General and administrative expenses.”
In
many
cases, our tax positions are related to tax years that remain subject to
examination by relevant tax authorities. We file income tax returns in the
United States (federal) and in various state and local jurisdictions. In most
instances, we are no longer subject to federal, state and local income tax
examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2003.
The
adoption of the provisions of FIN 48 did not have a material impact on our
consolidated financial position and results of operations. As of December 31,
2007, no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required to be
recorded.
The
ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation
of
future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences
become deductible. We consider projected future taxable income and tax planning
strategies in making this assessment. At present, we do not have a sufficient
history of income to conclude that it is more likely than not that we will
be
able to realize all of our tax benefits in the near future and therefore a
valuation allowance was established in the full value of the deferred tax
asset.
At
December
31, 2007
,
the
Company had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards for income tax
purposes of approximately $19,800,000. These NOL carry forwards expire through
2027 but are limited due to Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (the
“382
Limitation”) which states that the NOL of any corporation for any year after a
greater than 50% change in control has occurred shall not exceed certain
prescribed limitations. As a result of the Initial Public Offering described
in
Note 3 Debt Resolve’s NOL carry forwards are subject to the 382 Limitation which
limits the utilization of those NOL carry forwards to approximately $650,000
per
year. The remaining federal NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company
to
offset future taxable income prior to their expiration. For First Performance,
Section 382 will limit their pre-acquisition NOL’s to approximately $35,000 per
year, due to the acquisition described in Note 5. The remaining federal
NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company to offset future taxable income
prior to their expiration. For the year ended December 31, 2007 the
difference between the Federal statutory rate and the effective rate was
due
primarily to State taxes, non-deductibility of goodwill from the First
Performance acquisition and change in the valuation allowance of approximately
$4.2 million
.
A
valuation allowance will be maintained until sufficient positive evidence exists
to support the reversal of any portion or all of the valuation allowance net
of
appropriate reserves. Should we continue to be profitable in future periods
with
a supportable trend, the valuation allowance will be reversed
accordingly.
Revenue
Recognition
We
earned
revenue during 2007 and 2006 from several collection agencies, collection law
firms and lenders that implemented our online system. Our current contracts
provide for revenue based on a percentage of the amount of debt collected,
a
flat fee per settlement from accounts submitted on the DebtResolve system or
through a flat monthly license fee. Although other revenue models have been
proposed, most revenue earned to date has been determined using these methods,
and such revenue is recognized when the settlement amount of debt is collected
by the client. For the early adopters of our product, we waived set-up fees
and
other transactional fees that we anticipate charging in the future. While the
percent of debt collected will continue to be a revenue recognition method
going
forward, other payment models are also being offered to clients and may possibly
become our preferred revenue model. Dependent upon the structure of future
contracts, revenue may be derived from a combination of set up fees or monthly
licensing fees with transaction fees upon debt settlement.
In
recognition of the principles expressed in Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) 104
(“SAB 104”), that revenue should not be recognized until it is realized or
realizable and earned, and given the element of doubt associated with
collectability of an agreed settlement on past due debt, at this time we
uniformly postpone recognition of all contingent revenue until our client
receives payment from the debtor. As is required by SAB 104, revenues are
considered to have been earned when we have substantially accomplished the
agreed-upon deliverables to be entitled to payment by the client. For most
current active clients, these deliverables consist of the successful collection
of past due debts using our system and/or, for clients under a licensing
arrangement, the successful availability of our system to its
customers.
In
addition, in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue 00-21,
revenue is recognized and identified according to the deliverable provided.
Set-up fees, percentage contingent collection fees, fixed settlement fees,
monthly license fees, etc. are identified separately.
Recently
signed contracts and contracts under negotiation call for multiple deliverables,
and each component of revenue will be considered to have been earned when we
have met the associated deliverable, as is required by SAB 104 Topic 13(A).
For
new contracts being implemented which include a licensing fee per account,
following the guidance of SAB 104 regarding services being rendered continuously
over time, we will recognize revenue based on contractual prices established
in
advance and will recognize income over the contractual time periods. Where
some
doubt exists on the collectability of the revenues, a valuation reserve will
be
established or the income charged to losses, based on management’s opinion
regarding the collectability of those revenues.
In
January 2007, we initiated operations of our debt buying subsidiary, DRV Capital
LLC. DRV Capital and its wholly-owned subsidiary, EAR Capital I, LLC, engaged
in
the acquisition of pools of past due debt at a deeply discounted price, for
the
purpose of collecting on those debts. In recognition of the principles expressed
in Statement of Position 03-3 (“SOP 03-3”), where the timing and amount of cash
flows expected to be collected on these pools is reasonably estimable, we
recognize the excess of all cash flows expected at acquisition over the initial
investment in the pools of debt as interest income on a level-yield basis over
the life of the pool (accretable yield). Because we exited this business, we
will use the cost recovery method. Revenue will be earned by this debt buying
subsidiary under the cost recovery method when the amount of debt collected
exceeds the discounted price paid for the pool of debt. As of October 15, 2007,
we ceased operation of DRV Capital, sold all remaining portfolios and repaid
all
outstanding indebtedness.
On
January 19, 2007, we completed the acquisition of First Performance, a
collection agency, and its wholly-owned subsidiary First Performance Recovery
Corporation. In recognition of the principles expressed in SAB 104, that revenue
should not be recognized until it is realized or realizable and earned, and
given the element of doubt associated with collectability of an agreed
settlement on past due debt, at this time we uniformly postpone recognition
of
all contingent revenue until the cash payment is received from the debtor.
At
the time we remit fees collected to our clients, we accrue the portion of those
fees that the client contractually owes or retain our fees and remit the net
difference. As is required by SAB 104, revenues are considered to have been
earned when we have substantially accomplished the agreed-upon deliverables
to
be entitled to payment by the client. For most current active clients, these
deliverables consist of the successful collection of past due
debts.
Stock-based
Compensation
Beginning
on January 1, 2006, we account for stock options issued under stock-based
compensation plans under the recognition and measurement principles of SFAS
No.
123 - Revised. We adopted the modified prospective transition method and
therefore, did not restate prior periods’ results. Total stock-based
compensation expense related to these issuances and other stock-based grants
for
the year ended December 31, 2007 amounted to $2,494,616 and for the year ended
December 31, 2006 amounted to $11,136,566.
The
determination of the fair value of stock-based awards on the date of grant
is
affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex
and subjective variables. These variables include the price of the underlying
stock, our expected stock price volatility over the expected term of the awards,
actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors, the risk-free
interest rate and the expected annual dividend yield on the underlying
shares.
If
actual
results differ significantly from these estimates or different key assumptions
were used, there could be a material effect on our financial statements.
The future impact of the cost of stock-based compensation on our results
of operations, including net income/(loss) and earnings/(loss) per diluted
share, will depend on, among other factors, the level of equity awards as well
as the market price of our common stock at the time of the award as well as
various other assumptions used in valuing such awards. We will periodically
evaluate these estimates.
Recently
-i
ssued
A
ccounting
P
ronouncements
In
February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid
Financial Instruments” (“SFAS 155”), which eliminates the exemption from
applying SFAS 133 to interests in securitized financial assets so that similar
instruments are accounted for similarly regardless of the form of the
instruments. SFAS 155 also allows the election of fair value measurement at
acquisition, at issuance, or when a previously recognized financial instrument
is subject to a remeasurement event. Adoption is effective for all financial
instruments acquired or issued after the beginning of the first fiscal year
that
begins after September 15, 2006. Early adoption is permitted. The
provisions of SFAS 155 were adopted as of January 1, 2007 and did not have
a
material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
March 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 156, “Accounting for Servicing of
Financial Assets” (“SFAS 156”), which requires all separately recognized
servicing assets and servicing liabilities be initially measured at fair value.
SFAS 156 permits, but does not require, the subsequent measurement of servicing
assets and servicing liabilities at fair value. Adoption is required as of
the
beginning of the first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006.
Early adoption is permitted. The provisions of SFAS 156 were adopted as of
January 1, 2007 and did not have a material effect on our financial position,
results of operations or cash flows.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS
No. 157”). SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for
measuring fair value and expands disclosure of fair value measurements.
SFAS No. 157 applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or
permit fair value measurements and accordingly, does not require any new fair
value measurements. SFAS No. 157 is effective for financial statements
issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007. We do not
expect that the adoption of SFAS No. 157 will have a material impact on our
results of operations and financial condition.
In
November 2006, the EITF reached a final consensus in EITF Issue 06-6 “Debtor’s
Accounting for a Modification (or Exchange) of Convertible Debt Instruments”
(“EITF 06-6”). EITF 06-6 addresses the modification of a convertible debt
instrument that changes the fair value of an embedded conversion option and
the
subsequent recognition of interest expense for the associated debt instrument
when the modification does not result in a debt extinguishment pursuant to
EITF
96-19 , “Debtor’s Accounting for a Modification or Exchange of Debt
Instruments”. The consensus should be applied to modifications or exchanges of
debt instruments occurring in interim or annual periods beginning after November
29, 2006. The adoption of EITF 06-6 as of January 1, 2007 did not have a
material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations
or
cash flows.
In
November 2006, the FASB ratified EITF Issue No. 06-7, “Issuer’s Accounting for a
Previously Bifurcated Conversion Option in a Convertible Debt Instrument When
the Conversion Option No Longer Meets the Bifurcation Criteria in FASB Statement
No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” (“EITF
06-7”). At the time of issuance, an embedded conversion option in a convertible
debt instrument may be required to be bifurcated from the debt instrument and
accounted for separately by the issuer as a derivative under FAS 133, based
on
the application of EITF 00-19. Subsequent to the issuance of the convertible
debt, facts may change and cause the embedded conversion option to no longer
meet the conditions for separate accounting as a derivative instrument, such
as
when the bifurcated instrument meets the conditions of Issue 00-19 to be
classified in stockholders’ equity. Under EITF 06-7, when an embedded conversion
option previously accounted for as a derivative under FAS 133 no longer meets
the bifurcation criteria under that standard, an issuer shall disclose a
description of the principal changes causing the embedded conversion option
to
no longer require bifurcation under FAS 133 and the amount of the liability
for
the conversion option reclassified to stockholders’ equity. EITF 06-7 should be
applied to all previously bifurcated conversion options in convertible debt
instruments that no longer meet the bifurcation criteria in FAS 133 in interim
or annual periods beginning after December 15, 2006, regardless of whether
the
debt instrument was entered into prior or subsequent to the effective date
of
EITF 06-7. Earlier application of EITF 06-7 is permitted in periods for which
financial statements have not yet been issued. The adoption of EITF 06-7
as of January 1, 2007 did not have a material impact on our consolidated
financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
December 2006, the FASB issued FSP EITF 00-19-2 “Accounting for
Registration Payment Arrangements” (“FSP EITF 00-19-2”) which specifies that the
contingent obligation to make future payments or otherwise transfer
consideration under a registration payment arrangement should be separately
recognized and measured in accordance with FASB Statement No. 5,
“Accounting for Contingencies.” Adoption of FSP EITF 00-19-2 is required
for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006. The adoption of FSP
EITF 00-19-2 as of January 1, 2007 did not have a material impact on our
consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash
flows.
In
February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option
for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities” (“SFAS 159”), to permit all
entities to choose to elect, at specified election dates, to measure eligible
financial instruments at fair value. An entity shall report unrealized gains
and
losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected in earnings
at
each subsequent reporting date, and recognize upfront costs and fees related
to
those items in earnings as incurred and not deferred. SFAS 159 applies to
fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, with early adoption permitted
for an entity that has also elected to apply the provisions of SFAS 157,
“Fair Value Measurements.” An entity is prohibited from retrospectively applying
SFAS 159, unless it chooses early adoption. SFAS 159 also applies to eligible
items existing at November 15, 2007 (or early adoption date). We do not
expect that the adoption of SFAS 159 will have a material impact on our results
of operations and financial condition.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R (Revised 2007), “Business
Combinations” (“SFAS 141R”), which replaces SFAS No. 141, “Business
Combinations.” SFAS 141R establishes principles and requirements for determining
how an enterprise recognizes and measures the fair value of certain assets
and
liabilities acquired in a business combination, including noncontrolling
interests, contingent consideration and certain acquired contingencies. SFAS
141R also requires acquisition-related transaction expenses and restructuring
costs be expensed as incurred rather than capitalized as a component of the
business combination. SFAS 141R applies prospectively to business
combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of
the
first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. SFAS
141R
would have an impact on accounting for any businesses acquired after the
effective date of this pronouncement.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements-an amendment of ARB No. 51” (“SFAS 160”), to
improve the relevance, comparability and transparency of the information that
a
reporting entity provides in its consolidated financial statements by (1)
requiring the ownership interests in subsidiaries held by parties other than
the
parent to be clearly identified, labeled and presented in the consolidated
statement of financial position within equity, but separate from the parent’s
equity, (2) requiring that the amount of consolidated net income attributable
to
the parent and to the noncontrolling interest be clearly identified and
presented on the face of the consolidated statement of income, (3) requiring
that changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its
controlling financial interest in its subsidiary be accounted for consistently,
(4) by requiring that when a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained
noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary be initially measured
at fair value and (5) requiring that entities provide sufficient disclosures
that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of the parent and
the interests of the noncontrolling owners. SFAS 160 is effective for fiscal
years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning on or after
December 15, 2008. Earlier adoption is prohibited. SFAS 160 is effective in
tandem with SFAS 141R. We are currently in the process of evaluation the impact
of the adoption of SFAS 160 on our results of operations and financial
condition.
In
March
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments
and Hedging Activities-an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133” (“SFAS 161”), to
require enhanced disclosures about an entity’s derivative and hedging activities
and thereby improves the transparency of financial reporting. SFAS 161 is
effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods
beginning after November 15, 2008, with early adoption encouraged. We are
currently in the process of evaluation the impact of the adoption of SFAS 161
on
our results of operations and financial condition.
ITEM
7. Financial Statements
Our
audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 are included
as a separate section of this report beginning on page F-1.
ITEM
8. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
None.
ITEM
8A(T). Controls and Procedures
Management’s
report on internal control over financial reporting
Ou
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting for our company. In order to evaluate the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, our management
has
conducted an assessment using the criteria established in
Internal
Control - Integrated Framework
issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
Our company’s internal control over financial reporting, as defined in rule
13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because
of
its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies and procedures may deteriorate.
Based
on
our assessment, under the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated
Framework, issued by COSO, our management has concluded that our company has
a
material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as of December
31, 2007. The weakness exists with regard to segregation of duties, in that
one
employee does the accounting, accounts payable and banking
transactions.
This
annual report does not include an attestation report of our company’s registered
public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting.
Our
management’s report was not subject to attestation by our company’s registered
public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the Securities and
Exchange Commission that permit us to provide only our management’s report in
this annual report.
Evaluation
of the company’s disclosure controls and procedures
We
carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation
of
our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial
Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure
controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Based upon
that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
concluded that our company’s disclosure controls and procedures are not
effective, as of December 31, 2007, in ensuring that material information
relating to us required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit
under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within
the time periods specified in the Securities Exchange Commission rules and
forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls
and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed
by
an issuer in reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated
and communicated to management, including its principal executive officer or
officers and principal financial officer or officers, or persons performing
similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
For
the
year ended December 31, 2007, our internal controls over financial reporting
were materially impacted by our acquisition of First Performance, which took
place on January 19, 2007. First Performance is a collection agency which
employs approximately 25 people. The books and records of the acquired company
were moved to our White Plains location, and the controller of First Performance
currently works under the supervision of our Chief Financial Officer. We are
currently in the process of reviewing and formalizing controls in place over
the
preparation of First Performance’s financial statements, which have been
consolidated and included in this report. Based on review and assessment, our
management believes that the design and operation of the consolidated company’s
disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, as discussed
above.
ITEM
8B. Other Information
None.
PART
III.
ITEM
9. Directors, Executive Officers, Promoters, Control Persons and Corporate
Governance; Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
The
following table shows the positions held by our board of directors and executive
officers, as well as certain key employees, and their ages, as of April 11,
2008:
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Position
|
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
58
|
|
Chairman
and Founder
|
Charles
S. Brofman
|
|
51
|
|
Director
and Co-Founder
|
Kenneth
H. Montgomery
|
|
57
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
David
M. Rainey
|
|
48
|
|
President,
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
|
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr.
|
|
64
|
|
Director
|
William
M. Mooney
|
|
68
|
|
Director
|
Michael
G. Carey
|
|
54
|
|
Director
|
Sandra
L. Styer
|
|
59
|
|
Senior
Vice President, Director of Client
Services
|
The
principal occupations for the past five years (and, in some instances, for
prior
years) of each of our directors and executive officers are as
follows:
James
D. Burchetta
has been
our Chairman of the Board and Founder since February 2008. Prior to February
2008, he was our Co-Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since
December 2006. Prior to December 2006, he was our Co-Chairman of the Board,
Chief Executive Officer and President since January 2003. Mr. Burchetta is
a
co-founder of our company and was the co-founder of Cybersettle, Inc., which
settles insurance claims over the Internet, and served as its Chairman of the
Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer from 1997 to August 2000 and as its Vice
Chairman from August 2000 to February 2002. Prior to founding Cybersettle,
Mr.
Burchetta was a Senior Partner in the New York law firm of Burchetta, Brofman,
Collins & Hanley, LLP, where he practiced insurance and corporate finance
law. Mr. Burchetta received a B.A. degree from Villanova University and a J.D.
degree from Fordham University Law School and is a member of the New York State
Bar. Mr. Burchetta is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.
Charles
S. Brofman
has been
a member of our board of directors since February 2008. Prior to February 2008,
Mr. Brofman was our non-executive Co-Chairman of the Board since January 2003.
Mr. Brofman is a co-founder of our company and was the co-founder of Cybersettle
and has served as a director and its President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
since 1997, becoming its Chief Executive Officer in August 2000. Prior to
founding Cybersettle, Mr. Brofman was a Senior Partner in the New York law
firm
of Burchetta, Brofman, Collins & Hanley, LLP and, prior to that, was an
Assistant District Attorney in New York. Mr. Brofman received a B.S. degree
from
Brooklyn College, City University of New York and a J.D. degree from Fordham
University Law School and is a member of the New York State Bar.
Kenneth
H. Montgomery
has been
our Chief Executive Officer since February 2008. Previously, Mr. Montgomery
was
Chief Executive Officer and President of Pentegra Retirement Services, a
retirement services company, from 2003-2006. Mr. Montgomery was Senior Vice
President of Sales and Business Development for CIGNA Retirement Services from
2001-2003, and Chief Executive Officer and President of Prudential Retirement
Services from 1998-2001. Previously, Mr. Montgomery spent three years at Putnam
Investments as a Managing Director, 10 years in senior positions with Chemical
Bank and 15 years with the IBM Company in Sales and Marketing. Mr. Montgomery
received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Tennessee and a Masters
of
Science in Management as a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University.
David
M. Rainey
has been
our President and Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary since January
2008. Prior to January 2008, Mr. Rainey was our Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer since joining the company in May 2007, and also became our Secretary
in November 2007. Previously, Mr. Rainey was Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer of Hudson Scenic Studio during 2006. Mr. Rainey was Vice President,
Finance and CFO of Star Gas Propane from 2002-2005. Earlier in his career,
Mr.
Rainey spent over thirteen years with Westvaco Corporation in a variety of
financial roles of progressive responsibility, including Controller of the
Western Region of a division of the company. Mr. Rainey received his B.A. in
Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his
law
degree and MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University. Mr. Rainey is a member
of
the Tennessee bar.
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr.
has been
a member of our board of directors since February 2003. Mr. Dwyer is the former
President of The Westchester County Association Inc., having served from 1994
to
2003, and is active in local, state and national politics. The Westchester
County Association is a member of the Business Council of New York State and
its
membership includes many Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Dwyer has been the
Chairman of the Westchester, Nassau & Suffolk Municipal Officials
Association, and New York State Ethics Advisory Board. His other board
memberships have included the Lubin School of Business at Pace University,
The Westchester Land Trust, Westchester Business Accelerator, Transportation
Management Organization, The Lyndhurst Council, The Westchester Housing Fund
and
Westchester Community College Foundation. Mr. Dwyer received an M.A. degree
in
education and an M.A. degree in administration from Teachers College, Columbia
University.
William
M. Mooney, Jr.
has been
a member of our board of directors since April 2003. Mr. Mooney is currently
President of The Westchester County Association. Mr. Mooney has been involved
in
the banking sector in an executive capacity for more than 30 years. Prior to
joining Independence Community Bank, he served for four years as an Executive
Vice President and member of the management committee of Union State Bank,
responsible for retail banking, branch banking and all marketing activity.
Mr.
Mooney also spent 23 years at Chemical Bank and, following its merger with
Chase
Manhattan Bank, he was a Senior Vice President with responsibilities including
oversight of all retail business. Mr. Mooney was the President of the
Westchester Partnership for Economic Development. He also held the position
of
Chairman for the Westchester County Association, past Chairman of the United
Way
Westchester and Chairman of St. Thomas Aquinas College. He has served on the
board of trustees for New York Medical College, St. Agnes Hospital, the Board
of
Dominican Sisters and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Mooney received
a
B.A. degree in business administration from Manhattan College. He also attended
the Harvard Management Program and the Darden Graduate School at the University
of Virginia.
Michael
G. Carey
has been
a member of our board of directors since February 2007.
Mr.
Carey
is a lawyer, and has over 20 years of experience in economic development,
finance, banking, and government relations. From January 2005 to the present,
he
has served as the Founding Partner of The Carey Group, LLC, a consulting and
economic development services firm which also provides government relations
services. In addition, from April 2004 to December 2006, Mr. Carey served as
Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Cybersettle, Inc. Prior to joining
Cybersettle, he was a partner at Plunkett & Jaffe, P.C. from September 2002
to March 2004. Prior to starting The Carey Group, Mr. Carey served as a Special
Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg from January 2002 to August
2002, focusing on special projects, including New York City’s takeover of the
Board of Education, as well as overseeing the School Construction Authority.
From May 1999 to January 2002, Mr. Carey was President of the New York City
Economic Development Corporation (“EDC”) during the administration of Mayor
Rudolph W. Giuliani. Mr. Carey also served as the EDC’s First Executive Vice
President and General Counsel from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Carey oversaw the economic
development and revitalization of a number of different projects. While at
the
EDC, Mr. Carey was also chairman of New York City’s Industrial Development
Agency from 1999 to 2002, where he assisted hundreds of companies and
not-for-profit organizations in undertaking capital expansions, through bond
financing and/or tax benefits. Prior to joining the EDC, Mr. Carey was a
Managing Director at the investment banking firm Cambridge Partners L.L.C.,
where he specialized in municipal finance and financial products. Before joining
Cambridge Partners, he was a partner with the law firm of Whitman Breed Abbott
& Morgan LLC, where he practiced corporate and commercial litigation. Mr.
Carey began his career at the law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton &
Garrison LLP. Mr. Carey holds a J.D. degree from Fordham University School
of
Law and a B.A. degree from the Catholic University of America.
All
directors hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders and the
election and qualification of their successors. Officers are elected annually
by
our board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board.
Key
Employees
Sandra
L. Styer
was
appointed our Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Consumer Research in
July
2003. In September 2005, she was appointed our Senior Vice President and
Director of Client Services. Ms. Styer has more than 20 years of experience
in
management and consumer marketing over a broad range of industries from
telecommunications to banking. Between 1999 and April 2002, she served as
the Director of Marketing for the U.S. branch of MYOB Limited, an international
software developer, and from May 2002 to June 2003, she was an independent
marketing consultant. At American Airlines from 1979 to 1987, she held a
number of positions in finance and marketing. At American, she led the creation
of the first Internet reservations and ticket sales service, now known as
Travelocity. Ms. Styer received a B.A. degree from Indiana University and an
M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Additional
Information about our Board and its Committees
We
continue to monitor the rules and regulations of the SEC and the American Stock
Exchange to ensure that a majority of our board remains composed of
“independent” directors. All of our directors and each of the director nominees,
except James D. Burchetta and Charles S. Brofman, are “independent” as defined
in Section 121A of the American Stock Exchange Company Guide.
During
2007, all of our directors attended at least 75% of all meetings during the
periods for which they served on our board, and all of the meetings held by
committees of the board on which they serve. The board of directors has formed
an audit committee, compensation committee and a nominations and governance
committee, all of which operate under written charters. The charters for the
audit committee, the nominations and governance committee and the compensation
committee were included as exhibits to the form SB-2 registration statement
filed with the SEC on September 30, 2005.
Committees
of the Board
Audit
Committee.
In
September 2004, we established an audit committee of the board of directors,
which as of December 31, 2007 consisted of Lawrence E. Dwyer, Jr., William
M.
Mooney, Jr., and Jeffrey S. Bernstein (who is no longer a director of our
company or a member of the committee), each of whom is an independent director
under the American Stock Exchange’s listing standards. The audit committee’s
duties, which are specified in our Audit Committee Charter, include, but are
not
limited to:
|
·
|
reviewing
and discussing with management and the independent accountants our
annual
and quarterly financial statements,
|
|
·
|
directly
appointing, compensating, retaining, and overseeing the work of the
independent auditor,
|
|
·
|
approving,
in advance, the provision by the independent auditor of all audit
and
permissible non-audit services,
|
|
·
|
establishing
procedures for the receipt, retention, and treatment of complaints
received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls,
or
auditing matters and the confidential, anonymous submissions by our
employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing
matters,
|
|
·
|
the
right to engage and obtain assistance from outside legal and other
advisors as the audit committee deems necessary to carry out its
duties,
|
|
·
|
the
right to receive appropriate funding from us to compensate the independent
auditor and any outside advisors engaged by the committee and to
pay the
ordinary administrative expenses of the audit committee that are
necessary
or appropriate to carrying out its duties,
and
|
|
·
|
reviewing
and approving all related party transactions unless the task is assigned
to a comparable committee or group of independent
directors.
|
Compensation
Committee.
In
May
2004, we established a compensation committee of the board of directors, which
as of December 31, 2007 consisted of Messrs. Dwyer, Mooney and Bernstein (who
is
no longer a director of our company or a member of the committee), each of
whom
is an independent director. The compensation committee reviews and approves
our
salary and benefits policies, including compensation of executive officers.
The
compensation committee also administers our incentive compensation plan, and
recommends and approves grants of stock options and restricted stock grants
under that plan.
Nominations
and Governance Committee.
In
June
2005, we established a nominations and governance committee of the board of
directors, which as of December 31, 2007 consisted of Messrs. Dwyer and Mooney,
each of whom is an independent director. The purpose of the nominations and
governance committee is to select, or recommend for our entire board’s
selection, the individuals to stand for election as directors at the annual
meeting of stockholders and to oversee the selection and composition of
committees of our board. The nominations and governance committee’s duties,
which are specified in our Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee Charter,
include, but are not limited to:
·
establishing
criteria for the selection of new directors,
·
considering
stockholder proposals of director nominations,
·
committee
selection and composition,
·
considering
the adequacy of our corporate governance,
·
overseeing
and approving management continuity planning process, and
·
reporting
regularly to the board with respect to the committee’s duties.
Financial
E
xperts
on
A
udit
C
ommittee
The
audit
committee will at all times be composed exclusively of “independent directors”
who are “financially literate” as defined under the American Stock Exchange
listing standards. The American Stock Exchange listing standards define
“financially literate” as being able to read and understand fundamental
financial statements, including a company’s balance sheet, income statement and
cash flow statement.
In
addition, we must certify to the American Stock Exchange that the committee
has,
and will continue to have, at least one member who has past employment
experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional certification in
accounting, or other comparable experience or background that results in the
individual’s financial sophistication. The board of directors believes that Mr.
Mooney satisfies the American Stock Exchange’s definition of financial
sophistication and also qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as
defined under rules and regulations of the SEC.
Indebtedness
of Directors and Executive Officers
None
of
our directors or executive officers or their respective associates or affiliates
is indebted to us.
Family
Relationships
There
are
no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.
Legal
Proceedings
As
of the
date of this report, there is no material proceeding to which any of our
directors, executive officers, affiliates or stockholders is a party adverse
to
us.
Code
of Ethics
In
May
2003, we adopted a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct that applies to all
of
our executive officers, directors and employees. The Code of Ethics and Business
Conduct codifies the business and ethical principles that govern all aspects
of
our business. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct is posted on our website
at http://www.debtresolve.com/ and we will provide a copy without charge to
any
stockholder who makes a written request for a copy.
Committee
Interlocks and Insider Participation
No
member
of our board of directors is employed by Debt Resolve or our subsidiaries,
except for James D. Burchetta who currently serves as executive Chairman of
the
Board and Founder.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Rules
adopted by the SEC under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, require our
officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of the issued and
outstanding shares of our
equity
securities, to file reports of their ownership, and changes in ownership, of
such securities with the SEC on Forms 3, 4 or 5, as appropriate. Such
persons are required by the regulations of the SEC to furnish us with copies
of
all forms they file pursuant to Section 16(a).
Based
solely upon a review of Forms 3, 4 and 5 and amendments thereto furnished
to us during our most recent fiscal year, and any written representations
provided to us, we believe that all of the officers, directors, and owners
of
more than ten percent of the outstanding shares of our common stock complied
with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for the year ended December 31,
2007.
ITEM
10. Executive Compensation
Summary
Compensation Table
The
following table sets forth, for the most recent fiscal year, all cash
compensation paid, distributed or accrued, including salary and bonus amounts,
for services rendered to us by our Chief Executive Officer and four other
executive officers in such year who received or are entitled to receive
remuneration in excess of $100,000 during the stated period and any individuals
for whom disclosure would have been made in this table but for the fact that
the
individual was not serving as an executive officer as at December 31,
2007:
Name
and Principal Position
|
|
Year
|
|
Salary
($)
|
|
Bonus
($)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)
|
|
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan Compen-
sation
(4)
|
|
Non-qualified
Deferred Compensa-tion Earnings
($)
|
|
All
Other Compen-sation ($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
(a)
|
|
(b)
|
|
(c)
|
|
(d)
|
|
(e)
|
|
(f)
|
|
(g)
|
|
(h)
|
|
(i)
|
|
(j)
|
|
James
D. Burchetta
Chairman
of the Board and Founder(1) (2)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
250,000
250,000
|
|
|
—
150,000
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
8,541
|
|
|
250,000
408,541
|
|
Kenneth
H. Montgomery
Chief
Executive Officer (3)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
David
M. Rainey
President,
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer (4)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
124,231
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
180,500
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
304,731
—
|
|
Richard
G. Rosa
former
President, Chief Technology Officer (5)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
182,277
200,000
|
|
|
—
100,000
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
794,500
1,238,500
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
10,000
|
|
|
976,777
1,548,500
|
|
Katherine
A. Dering
former
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer , Senior Vice President,
Finance (6)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
105,706
150,000
|
|
|
—
100,000
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
180,500
563,000
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
7,875
|
|
|
286,206
820,875
|
|
Howard
C. Knauer
former
Senior Vice President and President, DRV Capital LLC (7)
|
|
|
2007
2006
|
|
|
157,327
187,490
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
58,000
125,332
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
215,327
312,822
|
|
|
(1)
|
Prior
to becoming of Chairman of the Board and Founder in February 2008,
Mr.
Burchetta was our Co-Chairman and Chief Excutive Officer since December
2006.
|
|
(2)
|
This
table excludes stock options granted to Mr. Burchetta pursuant to
a
licensing agreement with him and our other co-founder. Pursuant to
that
licensing agreement, we issued to Mr. Burchetta stock options to
purchase
an aggregate of 758,717 shares of our common stock at $5.00 per share.
The
stock options have an exercise period of ten years, were valued at
$3,414,217, and vested upon issuance.
|
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Montgomery joined our company and became of Chief Executive Officer
in
February 2008.
|
|
(4)
|
Mr.
Rainey joined our company and became an officer in May
2007.
|
|
(5)
|
Mr.
Rosa left our company effective December 31,
2007.
|
|
(6)
|
Ms.
Dering retired from our company effective September 1,
2007.
|
|
(7)
|
Mr.
Knauer left our company effective October 15,
2007.
|
Outstanding
Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The
following table summarizes equity awards outstanding at December 31, 2007
for each of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table
above:
|
|
Option
Awards
|
|
Stock
Awards
|
|
Name
|
|
Number
of
Securities
Underlying Unexercised Options
(#)
Exercisable
|
|
Number
of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options
(#)
Unexercisable
|
|
Equity
Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised
Unearned Options
(#)
|
|
Option
Exercise Price
($)
|
|
Option
Expiration Date
|
|
Number
of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested
(#)
|
|
Market
Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested
($)
|
|
Equity
Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other
Rights
That Have Not Vested
(#)
|
|
Equity
Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares,
Units or
Other Rights That Have Not Vested
($)
|
|
(a)
|
|
(b)
|
|
(c)
|
|
(d)
|
|
(e)
|
|
(f)
|
|
(g)
|
|
(h)
|
|
(i)
|
|
(j)
|
|
James
D. Burchetta
Chairman
of the Board and Founder (1)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Kenneth
H. Montgomery
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
David
M. Rainey
President,
Chief Financial Officer,
Secretary,
Treasurer, (2)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
75,000
|
|
|
—
|
|
$
|
4.75
|
|
|
4/27/2014
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Richard
G. Rosa
former
President,
Chief
Technology Officer (3)
|
|
|
100,000
230,000
200,000
25,000
|
|
|
—
—
—
25,000
|
|
|
—
—
—
—
|
|
$
$
$
$
|
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.75
|
|
|
8/31/2011
11/1/2011
4/27/2014
4/27/2014
|
|
|
—
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
—
|
|
Katherine
A. Dering
former
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer, Senior Vice President,
Finance
|
|
|
50,000
100,000
50,000
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
$
$
$
|
5.00
5.00
4.75
|
|
|
7/6/2011
11/1/2011
4/27/2014
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
—
|
|
Howard
C. Knauer
former
Senior Vice President and President, DRV Capital LLC
|
|
|
50,000
20,000
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
$
$
|
5.00
5.00
|
|
|
1/15/2008
1/15/2008
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
—
—
|
|
|
(1)
|
This
table excludes stock options granted to Mr. Burchetta pursuant to
a
licensing agreement with him and our other co-founder. Pursuant to
that
licensing agreement, we issued to Mr. Burchetta stock options to
purchase
an aggregate of 758,717 shares of our common stock at $5.00 per share.
The
stock options have an exercise period of ten years, were valued at
$3,414,217, and vested upon issuance.
|
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Rainey holds stock options to purchase 75,000 shares of our common
stock,
1/3 of which vest on April 27, 2008, one third of which vest on April
27.
2009 and one third of which vest on April 27, 2010, all of which
expire on
April 27, 2014.
|
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Rosa holds stock options to purchase 25,000 shares of our common
stock
which vest on December 2, 2008 and expire on April 27,
2014.
|
Employment
Agreements
We
have
entered into an employment agreement with James D. Burchetta under which he
will
devote substantially all of his business and professional time to us and our
business development. The employment agreement with Mr. Burchetta is effective
until January 13, 2013. The agreement provided Mr. Burchetta with an initial
annual base salary of $240,000 and contains provisions for minimum annual
increases based on changes in an applicable “cost-of-living” index. The
employment agreement with Mr. Burchetta contains provisions under which his
annual salary may increase to $600,000 if we achieve specified operating
milestones and also provides for additional compensation based on the value
of a
transaction that results in a change of control, as that term is defined in
the
agreement. In the event of a change of control, Mr. Burchetta would be entitled
to receive 25% of the sum of $250,000 plus 2.5% of the transaction value, as
that term is defined in the agreement, between $5,000,000 and $15,000,000 plus
1% of the transaction value above $15,000,000. Compensation expense under the
agreement with Mr. Burchetta totaled $250,000 and $408,541 for the years ended
December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
We
amended the employment agreement with Mr. Burchetta in February 2004, agreeing
to modify his level of compensation, subject to our meeting specified financial
and performance milestones. The employment agreement, as amended, provided
that
the base salary for Mr. Burchetta will be as follows: (1) if at the date of
any
salary payment, the aggregate amount of our net cash on hand provided from
operating activities and net cash and/or investments on hand provided from
financing activities is sufficient to cover our projected cash flow requirements
(as established by our board of directors in good faith from time to time)
for
the following 12 months (the “projected cash requirement”), the annual base
salary will be $150,000; and (2) if at the date of any salary payment, our
net
cash on hand provided from operating activities is sufficient to cover our
projected cash requirement, the annual base salary will be $250,000, and
increased to $450,000 upon the date upon which we complete the sale or license
of our Debt Resolve system with respect to 400,000 consumer credit accounts.
Under the terms of the amended employment agreement, no salary payments were
made to Mr. Burchetta during 2004. We recorded compensation expense and a
capital contribution totaling $150,000 in 2004, representing an imputed
compensation expense for the minimum base salary amounts under the agreement
with Mr. Burchetta, as if we had met the condition for paying his
salary.
We
amended the employment agreement with Mr. Burchetta again in June 2005, agreeing
that (1) as of April 1, 2005 we will pay Mr. Burchetta an annual base salary
of
$250,000 per year, and thereafter his base salary will continue at that level,
subject to adjustments approved by the compensation committee of our board
of
directors, and (2) the employment term will extend for five years after the
final closing of our June/September 2005 private financing.
On
May 1,
2007, David M. Rainey joined our company as Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer on the planned retirement of Katherine A. Dering. Mr. Rainey has
a one
year contract that renews automatically unless 90 days notice of intention
not
to renew is given by the company. Mr. Rainey’s base salary is $200,000, subject
to annual increases at the discretion of the board of directors. Mr. Rainey
also
received a grant of 75,000 options to purchase the common stock of the company,
one third of which vest on the first, second and third anniversaries of the
start of employment with the company. Mr. Rainey’s contract provides for one
month of severance and benefits per month of service up to 12 months for any
termination without cause. Upon a change in control, Mr. Rainey receives one
year severance and bonus with benefits and immediate vesting of all stock
options then outstanding.
Each
of
the employment agreements with Mr. Burchetta and Mr. Rainey also contain
covenants (a) restricting the employee from engaging in any activities
competitive with our business during the term of their employment agreements,
(b) prohibiting the employee from disclosure of our confidential
information and (c) confirming that all intellectual property developed by
the employee and relating to our business constitutes our sole property. In
addition, Mr. Rainey’s contract provides for a one year non-compete during the
term of his severance.
Director
Compensation
Non-employee
Director Compensation
.
Non-employee directors currently receive no cash compensation for serving on
our
board of directors other than reimbursement of all reasonable expenses for
attendance at board and board committee meetings. Under our 2005 Incentive
Compensation Plan, non-employee directors are entitled to receive stock options
to purchase shares of common stock or restricted stock grants. During the year
ended December 31, 2007, options to purchase 20,000 shares of stock were granted
to a new director.
Employee
Director Compensation.
Directors
who are employees of ours receive no compensation for services provided in
that
capacity, but are reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses in connection with
attendance at meetings of our board and its committees.
The
table
below summarizes the compensation we paid to non-employee directors for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.
Director
Compensation
Name
|
|
Fees
Earned or Paid in Cash ($)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)
|
|
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan Compen-
sation
($)
|
|
Nonqualified
Deferred Compen-sation Earnings
($)
|
|
All
Other Compen-sation ($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
(a)
|
|
(b)
|
|
(e)
|
|
(f)
|
|
(g)
|
|
(h)
|
|
(i)
|
|
(j)
|
|
Charles
S. Brofman (1)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Jeffrey
S. Bernstein (2)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Michael
G. Carey
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
56,467
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
56,467
|
|
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr.
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
William
M. Mooney, Jr.
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Alan
M. Silberstein (3)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
(1)
|
This
table excludes stock options granted to Mr. Brofman pursuant to a
licensing agreement with him and our other co-chairman. Pursuant
to that
licensing agreement, we issued to Mr. Brofman, stock options to purchase
an aggregate of 758,717 shares of our common stock at $5.00 per share.
The
stock options have an exercise period of ten years, were valued at
$3,414,217, and vested upon
issuance.
|
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Bernstein resigned from the board effective January 24, 2008 to become
a
consultant to the company.
|
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Silberstein resigned from the board effective December 31, 2007 to
pursue
other interests.
|
ITEM
11. Security ownership of certain beneficial owners and
management
The
table
below sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common stock, as of April
11,
2008, by:
|
·
|
all
of our directors and executive officers, individually,
|
|
·
|
all
of our directors and executive officers, as a group, and
|
|
·
|
all
persons who beneficially owned more than 5% of our outstanding common
stock.
|
The
beneficial ownership of each person was calculated based on 8,478,530 shares
of
our common stock outstanding as of April 11, 2008, according to the record
ownership listings as of that date and the verifications we solicited and
received from each director and executive officer. The SEC has defined
“beneficial ownership” to mean more than ownership in the usual sense. For
example, a person has beneficial ownership of a share not only if he owns it
in
the usual sense, but also if he has the power to vote, sell or otherwise dispose
of the share. Beneficial ownership also includes the number of shares that
a
person has the right to acquire within 60 days of April 11, 2008 pursuant
to the exercise of options or warrants or the conversion of notes, debentures
or
other indebtedness, but excludes stock appreciation rights. Two or more persons
might count as beneficial owners of the same share. Unless otherwise noted,
the
address of the following persons listed below is c/o Debt Resolve, Inc.,
707 Westchester Avenue, Suite L7, White Plains, New York 10604.
Unless
otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table below have
sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock
beneficially owned by them.
Name
|
|
Position
|
|
Shares
of stock beneficially owned
|
|
Percent
of common stock beneficially owned
|
|
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
|
Chairman
of the Board and Founder
|
|
|
1,814,957
|
(1)
|
|
11.5
|
%
|
Charles
S. Brofman
|
|
|
Director
and Co-Founder
|
|
|
2,190,193
|
(2)
|
|
13.9
|
%
|
Kenneth
H. Montgomery
|
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
|
312,000
|
(3
)
|
|
3.6
|
%
|
David
M. Rainey
|
|
|
President,
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Secretary
|
|
|
50,050
|
(4)
|
|
*
|
|
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr.
|
|
|
Director
|
|
|
162,500
|
(5)
|
|
1.0
|
%
|
William
H. Mooney
|
|
|
Director
|
|
|
829,602
|
(6)
|
|
5.3
|
%
|
Michael
G. Carey
|
|
|
Director
|
|
|
50,000
|
(7)
|
|
*
|
|
All
directors and executive officers as a group (7 persons)
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,409,302
|
|
|
48.5
|
%
|
*
Denotes
less than 1%.
(1)
|
Includes
stock options to purchase 758,717 shares of common stock.
|
(2)
|
Includes
stock options to purchase 758,717 shares of common stock. Also includes
800,000 shares held by Arisean Capital Ltd., a corporation controlled
by
Mr. Brofman.
|
(3)
|
Includes
stock options to purchase 175,000 shares of common stock and 12,500
shares
of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants. Excludes
additional stock options to purchase 175,000 shares of common stock
vesting on July 24, 2008 .
|
(4)
|
Includes
stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock. Excludes
stock
options to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock, with 25,000 vesting
on
May 1, 2008, 25,000 vesting on May 1, 2009 and 25,000 vesting on
May 1,
2010. Excludes additional stock options to purchase 100,000 shares
of
common stock, with 50,000 vesting on May 1, 2008 and 50,000 vesting
on May
1, 2009.
|
(5)
|
Includes
stock options to purchase 80,500 shares of common stock.
|
(6)
|
Includes
30,717 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants
and
stock options to purchase 754,500 shares of common
stock.
|
(7)
|
Consists
of stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock.
|
Change
in Control
There
are
no arrangements currently in effect which may result in our “change in control,”
as that term is defined by the provisions of Item 403(c) of Regulation S-B.
Equity
Compensation Plan Information
The
issuance of stock incentive awards for an aggregate of 900,000 shares of common
stock is authorized under our 2005 Incentive Compensation Plan.
As
of
December 31, 2007, 80,000 stock options are available for issuance under our
2005 Incentive Compensation Plan and there were outstanding stock options to
purchase 820,000 shares of our common stock.
The
following table provides information as of December 31, 2007 with respect to
the
shares of common stock that may be issued under our existing equity compensation
plan:
Equity
Compensation Plan Information
Plan
category
|
|
Number
of shares of common stock to be issued upon exercise of outstanding
options, warrants and rights
(a)
|
|
Weighted-average
exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights
(b)
|
|
Number
of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity
compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column
(a))
(c)
|
|
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders
|
|
|
820,000
|
|
$
|
4.78
|
|
|
80,000
|
|
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
|
|
3,033,434
|
|
$
|
4.97
|
|
|
Unrestricted
|
|
Total
|
|
|
3,853,434
|
|
$
|
4.93
|
|
|
80,000
|
|
ITEM
12. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director
Independence
Related
Party Transactions
On
November 6, 2006, pursuant to a licensing agreement with our co-founders, we
issued stock options to purchase an aggregate of 1,517,434 shares of our common
stock at $5.00 per share to the co-founders. The options have an exercise period
of five years, were valued at $6,828,453, and vested upon issuance. These option
grants were outside of
our
2005
Incentive Compensation Plan.
We
recorded an expense of $6,828,453 during the year ended December 31, 2006
related to this issuance.
To
assist
in the preparation of our registration statement and other legal
matters, primarily related to contracts for potential acquisitions, during
the
year ended December 31, 2006 we employed as a consultant an attorney who is
a
relative of our Chairman and Founder. Over the course of the year ended
December 31, 2006, we paid this individual consulting fees of approximately
$35,000.
In
May
2007, our non-executive co-founder provided the company with a line of credit
for up to $500,000 in financing, all of which was drawn. He also provided the
company with $76,000 in short term loans in November, 2007.
In
August
2007, our Chairman and Founder provided us with a $100,000 line of credit,
all
of which was drawn. In December 2007, he provided an additional $35,000 in
short
term loans to us.
In
October 2007, a director and stockholder provided us with a line of credit
for
$275,000, all of which was drawn. The director provided an additional $25,000
in
short term funding in November 2007.
Director
Independence
Each
of
Lawrence E. Dwyer, Jr., William M. Mooney, Jr., and Michael G. Carey is an
“independent” director, as such term is defined in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the
Exchange Act, and Messrs. Dwyer and Mooney serve on each of our Audit,
Compensation, and Nominations and Governance Committees. See Item 9, Directors,
Executive Officers, Promoters, Control Persons and Corporate Governance;
Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act for more information on the
independence of our directors.
ITEM
13. Exhibits
(a)
Exhibits
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
3.1
|
|
Certificate
of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation, dated August 16,
2006.
(3)
|
|
|
|
3.2
|
|
Certificate
of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation, dated August 24,
2006.
(3)
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Form
of 15% Secured Convertible Promissory Note of Debt Resolve, Inc.
for June
26, 2006 private placement.(1)
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Form
of 15% Secured Promissory Note of Debt Resolve, Inc. for June 26,
2006
private placement.(1)
|
|
|
|
4.3
|
|
Form
of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock of Debt Resolve, Inc. for June
26,
2006 private placement.(1)
|
|
|
|
4.4
|
|
Form
of Purchase Warrant granted to Underwriters in November 2006 initial
public offering.(4)
|
|
|
|
10.1
|
|
Securities
Purchase Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2006, among Debt Resolve,
Inc.
and each of the private placement subscribers.(1)
|
|
|
|
10.2
|
|
Registration
Rights Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2006, among Debt Resolve,
Inc. and
each of the private placement subscribers.(1)
|
|
|
|
10.3
|
|
Security
Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2006, among Debt Resolve, Inc. and
each of
the private placement subscribers.(1)
|
|
|
|
10.4
|
|
Stock
Pledge Agreement, dated as of June 26, 2006, among Debt Resolve,
Inc. and
each of the private placement subscribers.(1)
|
|
|
|
10.5
|
|
Form
of investor lock-up agreement for June 26, 2006 private
placement.(1)
|
|
|
|
10.6
|
|
Hosting
Agreement with AT&T Corp.(2)
|
|
|
|
10.7
|
|
Master
Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2006, by and
among
EAR Capital I, LLC, as borrower, DRV Capital LLC, as servicer, Debt
Resolve, Inc., as parent, and Sheridan Asset Management, LLC, as
lender.(5)
|
|
|
|
10.8
|
|
Form
of Secured Promissory Note, dated December 21, 2006, made by EAR
Capital
I, LLC to Sheridan Asset Management, LLC.(5)
|
|
|
|
10.9
|
|
Security
Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2006, between EAR Capital I,
LLC, as
obligor, and Sheridan Asset Management, LLC, as secured
party.(5)
|
|
|
|
21.1
|
|
Subsidiaries
of Debt Resolve, Inc.
|
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer required by Rule
13(a)-14(a).
|
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer required by Rule
13(a)-14(a).
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
Certifications
pursuant to Sec. 906
|
(1)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed January 24,
2007.
|
(2)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K/A, filed April
4,
2007.
|
(3)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 3,
2007.
|
(4)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 4,
2007.
|
(5)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 14,
2007.
|
(6)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed June 6,
2007.
|
(7)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 8,
2007.
|
(8)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 31,
2007.
|
(9)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed September 5,
2007.
|
(10)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed September
25, 2007.
|
(11)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed October 23,
2007.
|
(12)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 17,
2007.
|
(13)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 18,
2007.
|
ITEM
14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Marcum
& Kliegman LLP served as our independent auditors for the years ended
December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The firm also performed a reaudit of the
years
ended 2004 and 2003.
Audit
Fees
Audit
fees are those fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit
of
the annual financial statements and review of the financial statements included
in Form 10-QSB. The aggregate amount of the audit fees billed by Marcum &
Kliegman LLP related to the audit of our financial statements, including the
review of our IPO offering statement on Form SB-2 and responses to related
SEC
comments in 2006 and 2005, was $201,522 for 2007, $315,895 for 2006 and $220,000
for 2005.
Audit-related
Fees
Audit
related fees are fees billed for professional services other than the audit
of
our financial statements. No audit related fees were billed by Marcum &
Kliegman LLP in 2007, 2006 or 2005.
Tax
Fees
Tax
fees
are those fees billed for professional services rendered for tax compliance,
including preparation of corporate federal and state income tax returns, tax
advice and tax planning. The aggregate amount of the tax fees billed by Marcum
& Kliegman LLP was $10,351 in 2007 and $20,705 in 2006. No tax fees were
billed by Marcum & Kliegman LLP in 2005.
All
Other Fees
No
other
fees were billed by our independent auditors in 2007, 2006 and
2005.
Audit
Committee
The
members of our audit committee are Messrs. Dwyer and Mooney. Our board of
directors and audit committee approved the services rendered and fees charged
by
our independent auditors. The audit committee has reviewed and discussed our
audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 with our
management. In addition, the audit committee has discussed with Marcum &
Kliegman LLP, our independent registered public accountants, the matters
required to be discussed by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 61
(Communications with Audit Committee). The audit committee also has received
the
written disclosures and the letter from as required by the Independence
Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Discussions with Audit Committees)
and the audit committee has discussed the independence of Marcum & Kliegman
LLP with that firm.
Based
on
the audit committee’s review of the matters noted above and its discussions with
our independent auditors and our management, the audit committee recommended
to
the board of directors that the audited financial statements be included in
our
annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2007.
Policy
for Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services
The
audit
committee’s policy is to pre-approve all audit services and all non-audit
services that our independent auditor is permitted to perform for us under
applicable federal securities regulations. As permitted by the applicable
regulations, the audit committee’s policy utilizes a combination of specific
pre-approval on a case-by-case basis of individual engagements of the
independent auditor and general pre-approval of certain categories of
engagements up to predetermined dollar thresholds that are reviewed annually
by
the audit committee. Specific pre-approval is mandatory for the annual financial
statement audit engagement, among others.
The
pre-approval policy was implemented effective as of September 2004. All
engagements of the independent auditor to perform any audit services and
non-audit services since that date have been pre-approved by the audit committee
in accordance with the pre-approval policy. The policy has not been waived
in
any instance. All engagements of the independent auditor to perform any audit
services and non-audit services prior to the date the pre-approval policy was
implemented were approved by the audit committee in accordance its normal
functions.
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities
Exchange
Act of 1934, the Registrant caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by
the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Dated:
April 15, 2008
|
|
|
|
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC.
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
Chairman
and Founder
(principal
executive officer)
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/
David
M. Rainey
|
|
David
M. Rainey
|
|
President,
Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary
|
|
(principal
financial and accounting officer)
|
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has
been
signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
Chairman
of the Board and Founder
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
James
D. Burchetta
|
|
(principal
executive officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Kenneth
M. Montgomery
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
Kenneth
M. Montgomery
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
David
M. Rainey
|
|
President
and Chief Financial Officer,
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
David
M. Rainey
|
|
Treasurer
and Secretary
|
|
|
|
|
(principal
financial and accounting officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Charles
S. Brofman
|
|
Director
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
Charles
S. Brofman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr
.
|
|
Director
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
Lawrence
E. Dwyer, Jr.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
William
M. Mooney, Jr
.
|
|
Director
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
William
M. Mooney, Jr.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Michael
G. Carey
|
|
Director
|
|
April
15, 2008
|
Michael
G. Carey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
INDEX
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated
Financial Statements for the Years Ended December 31, 2007 and
2006
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
|
|
F-2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2007
|
|
|
F-3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2007 and
2006
|
|
|
F-4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficiency) for the Years Ended
December 31, 2007 and 2006
|
|
|
F-5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2007 and
2006
|
|
|
F-8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
|
|
F-10
|
|
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the
Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Debt Resolve,
Inc.
We
have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Debt Resolve, Inc and
Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2007, and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficiency), and
cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006. These financial
statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based
on
our audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we
plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to
have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over
financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control
over
financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an
opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in
the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In
our
opinion, based on our audits and the report of the other auditors, the financial
statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated financial position of Debt Resolve, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of
December 31, 2007, and the consolidated results of their operations and their
cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 in conformity with
United States generally accepted accounting principles.
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming
that
the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note
2,
the Company has incurred significant losses since inception, which raise
substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The
consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might
result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
As
described in Note 2, during the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company
changed its method of accounting for stock-based compensation in accordance
with
Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123R, “Share-Based
Payment.”
/s/
Marcum & Kliegman LLP
New
York,
New York
April
14,
2008
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Balance Sheet
December
31, 2007
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
Restricted
cash
|
|
$
|
67,818
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
84,013
|
|
Other
receivable
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
108,189
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
460,020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fixed
assets, net
|
|
|
283,095
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deposits
and other assets
|
|
|
108,780
|
|
Intangible
assets, net
|
|
|
208,848
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
1,060,743
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities
and Stockholders’ Deficiency
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
|
$
|
2,448,314
|
|
Collections
payable
|
|
|
42,606
|
|
Short-term
note (net of deferred debt discount of $29,400)
|
|
|
70,600
|
|
Lines
of credit - related parties
|
|
|
1,011,000
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
3,572,520
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes
payable (net of deferred debt discount of $70,975)
|
|
|
254,025
|
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
3,826,545
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Commitments
and contingencies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders’
deficiency:
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred
stock, 10,000,000 shares authorized, $0.001 par value, none issued
and outstanding
|
|
|
--
|
|
Common
stock, 100,000,000 shares authorized, $0.001 par value, 8,474,363
issued
and outstanding
|
|
|
8,474
|
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
42,501,655
|
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(45,275,931
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
stockholders’ deficiency
|
|
|
(2,765,802
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ deficiency
|
|
$
|
1,060,743
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial
statements.
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
|
|
Years
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
$
|
2,845,823
|
|
$
|
98,042
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Costs
and expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payroll
and related expenses
|
|
|
7,038,243
|
|
|
5,524,059
|
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
|
5,395,224
|
|
|
3,255,055
|
|
Terminated
acquisition costs
|
|
|
959,811
|
|
|
—
|
|
Patent
licensing expense - related parties
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
6,828,453
|
|
Impairment
of goodwill and intangible assets
|
|
|
1,206,335
|
|
|
—
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization expense
|
|
|
227,060
|
|
|
51,728
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
expenses
|
|
|
14,826,673
|
|
|
15,659,295
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
from operations
|
|
|
(11,980,850
|
)
|
|
(15,561,253
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
(expense) income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
41,946
|
|
|
—
|
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(18,042
|
)
|
|
(778,243
|
)
|
Interest
expense - related party
|
|
|
(46,370
|
)
|
|
—
|
|
Amortization
of deferred debt discount
|
|
|
(132,400
|
)
|
|
(4,641,985
|
)
|
Amortization
of deferred financing costs
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
(665,105
|
)
|
Other
income (expense)
|
|
|
(8,116
|
)
|
|
4,500
|
|
Total
other expense
|
|
|
(162,982
|
)
|
|
(6,080,833
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
from continuing operations
|
|
|
(12,143,832
|
)
|
|
(21,642,086
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
|
|
(452,085
|
)
|
|
(53,579
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(12,595,917
|
)
|
$
|
(21,695,665
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
basic
and diluted (see Note 2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
Continuing operations
|
|
$
|
(1.51
|
)
|
$
|
(5.23
|
)
|
-
Discontinued operations
|
|
$
|
(0.06
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
-
Total
|
|
$
|
(1.57
|
)
|
$
|
(5.24
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding - basic and diluted (see
Note
2)
|
|
|
8,033,348
|
|
|
4,143,866
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial
statements.
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficiency)
For
the
Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006
|
|
Preferred
Stock
|
|
Common
Stock
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deficit
Accumulated
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number
of
Shares
|
|
Amount
|
|
Number
of
Shares
|
|
Amount
|
|
Deferred
compensation
|
|
Additional
Paid
in
Capital
|
|
During
the Development Stage
|
|
Total
|
|
Balance
at December 31, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,970,390
|
|
$
|
2,971
|
|
$
|
(188,150
|
)
|
$
|
8,946,846
|
|
$
|
(10,984,349
|
)
|
$
|
(2,222,682
|
)
|
Sales
of common stock in
November
2006 ($5.00 per share)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2,500,000
|
|
|
2,500
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
12,497,500
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
12,500,000
|
|
Offering
costs of public offering
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
(1,844,219
|
)
|
|
—
|
|
|
(1,844,219
|
)
|
Issuance
of bridge shares upon
conversion
of notes on
November
2006 ($2.45 to $3.00
per
share)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
986,605
|
|
|
986
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
3,173,195
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
3,174,181
|
|
Issuance
of common stock to consultants November 2006 ($5.00 per
share)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
12,000
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
|
59,988
|
|
|
|
|
|
60,000
|
|
Capital
contributed from the beneficial conversion feature of notes
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2,713,576
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2,713,576
|
|
Capital
contributed from grant of warrants for bridge financings
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
909,883
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
909,883
|
|
Capital
contributed from deferred
financing
costs
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
119,238
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
119,238
|
|
Capital
contributed from the grant
of
stock options to pay for
consulting
services
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
1,235,836
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
1,235,836
|
|
Capital
contributed from the grant of stock options to pay for patent licensing
rights
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
6,828,453
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
6,828,453
|
|
Capital
contributed from the grant of stock options to employees
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2,839,562
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2,839,562
|
|
Capital
contributed from the exercise of options and warrants
November-December
2006
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
35,417
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
18,882
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
18,917
|
|
Amortization
of deferred compensation
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
172,714
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
172,714
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(21,695,665
|
)
|
|
(21,695,665
|
)
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
6,504,412
|
|
$
|
6,504
|
|
$
|
(15,436
|
)
|
$
|
37,498,740
|
|
$
|
(32,680,014
|
)
|
$
|
4,809,794
|
|
Issuance
of common stock to purchase First Performance Corporation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
88,563
|
|
|
89
|
|
|
|
|
|
349,911
|
|
|
|
|
|
350,000
|
|
Capital
contributed from the exercise of options and warrants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,001,388
|
|
|
1,001
|
|
|
|
|
|
197,384
|
|
|
|
|
|
198,385
|
|
Capital
contributed from the grant of stock options to employees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,207,950
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,207,950
|
|
Capital
contributed from the grant of stock options to pay for consulting
services
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
255,795
|
|
|
|
|
|
255,795
|
|
Sales
of common stock for cash
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
880,000
|
|
|
880
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,759,100
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,759,980
|
|
Amortization
of deferred compensation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,436
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15,436
|
|
Capital
contributed from the beneficial conversion feature of
notes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
232,775
|
|
|
|
|
|
232,775
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(12,595,917
|
)
|
|
(12,595,917
|
)
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8,474,363
|
|
$
|
8,474
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
42,531,655
|
|
$
|
(45,275,931
|
)
|
$
|
(2,765,802
|
)
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial
statements.
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
|
Years
ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
CASH
FLOWS FROM CONTINUING OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(12,143,832
|
)
|
$
|
(21,642,086
|
)
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non
cash stock-based compensation
|
|
|
2,479,181
|
|
|
11,136,565
|
|
Amortization
of deferred debt discount
|
|
|
132,400
|
|
|
4,641,985
|
|
Amortization
of deferred financing costs
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
665,105
|
|
Impairment
of goodwill and intangible assets
|
|
|
1,206,335
|
|
|
--
|
|
Loss
on disposal of fixed assets
|
|
|
68,330
|
|
|
--
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
227,060
|
|
|
51,728
|
|
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase
in restricted cash
|
|
|
89,667
|
|
|
--
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
344,731
|
|
|
(2,611
|
)
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
85,122
|
|
|
(3,223
|
)
|
Deposits
and other assets
|
|
|
37,763
|
|
|
(940
|
)
|
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
|
|
692,650
|
|
|
282,914
|
|
Collections
payable
|
|
|
(114,879
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Net
cash used in continuing operating activities
|
|
|
(6,895,472
|
)
|
|
(5,244,238
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CASH
FLOWS FROM CONTINUING INVESTING ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase
of First Performance Co., including direct expenses
|
|
|
(586,915
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Purchases
of fixed assets
|
|
|
(35,464
|
)
|
|
(79,516
|
)
|
Net
cash used in continuing investing activities
|
|
|
(622,379
|
)
|
|
(79,516
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CASH
FLOWS FROM CONTINUING FINANCING ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from issuance of notes and convertible notes
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
2,504,750
|
|
Repayment
of notes and convertible notes
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
(3,088,381
|
)
|
Proceeds
from notes payable
|
|
|
225,000
|
|
|
--
|
|
Proceeds
from issuance of short term notes
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
1,185,000
|
|
Repayment
of short term notes
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
(660,000
|
)
|
Proceeds
from lines of credit
|
|
|
1,011,000
|
|
|
--
|
|
Repayment
of line of credit
|
|
|
(150,000
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Proceeds
from issuance of common stock
|
|
|
1,759,980
|
|
|
12,500,000
|
|
Proceeds
from exercise of options and warrants
|
|
|
198,385
|
|
|
18,916
|
|
Repayment
of stockholders’ loans
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
(25,000
|
)
|
Stock
offering costs
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
(1,844,219
|
)
|
Deferred
financing costs
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
(365,318
|
)
|
Net
cash provided by continuing financing activities
|
|
|
3,044,365
|
|
|
10,225,749
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CASH
FLOWS OF DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
|
|
(377,165
|
)
|
|
(53,579
|
)
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(74,920
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
--
|
|
Net
cash used in discontinued operations
|
|
|
(452,085
|
)
|
|
(53,579
|
)
|
Net
(decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
(4,925,571
|
)
|
|
4,901,995
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
|
4,925,571
|
|
|
23,576
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
4,925,571
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
paid for income taxes
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
Cash
paid for interest
|
|
$
|
20,441
|
|
$
|
814,435
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non
cash investing and financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issuance
of unfunded long term note payable
|
|
$
|
200,000
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
Conversion
of convertible notes to common stock
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
$
|
3,088,381
|
|
Conversion
of loans payable, accounts payable and accrued expenses into convertible
notes
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
$
|
977,012
|
|
Issuance
of warrants for deferred financing fees
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
$
|
119,238
|
|
Conversion
of accrued interest into common stock
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
$
|
85,800
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
investing and financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets acquired
|
|
$
|
679,734
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
Property
and equipment acquired
|
|
|
286,229
|
|
|
--
|
|
Security
deposits acquired
|
|
|
51,999
|
|
|
--
|
|
Intangible
assets acquired
|
|
|
450,000
|
|
|
--
|
|
Goodwill
recognized on purchase business combination
|
|
|
1,042,205
|
|
|
--
|
|
Accrued
liabilities assumed in the acquisition
|
|
|
(1,573,252
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Non-cash
consideration to seller
|
|
|
(350,000
|
)
|
|
--
|
|
Cash
paid to acquire business
|
|
$
|
500,000
|
|
$
|
--
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial
statements.
DEBT
RESOLVE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to
Consolidated Financial Statements
December
31, 2007
NOTE
1.
ORGANIZATION
AND DEVELOPMENT STAGE ACTIVITIES:
Description
of business
Debt
Resolve, Inc. (“Debt Resolve” or the “Company”), is a Delaware corporation
formed on April 21, 1997. The Company provides banks, lenders, credit card
issuers, third party collection agencies and collection law firms and purchasers
of charged-off debt an Internet-based online system (“the DebtResolve System”)
for the collection of past due consumer debt. The Company offers its service
as
an Application Service Provider (“ASP”) model, enabling clients to introduce
this collection option with no modifications to their existing collections
computer systems. Its products capitalize on using the Internet as a tool for
communication, resolution, settlement and payment of delinquent debts. The
DebtResolve system features, at its core, a patented online bidding system.
In
2007, the Company expanded its business to include debt buying and debt
collection and acquired a collection agency, which use its patented
Internet-based collection and settlement process to improve collection results.
However, on October 15, 2007, the Company exited the debt buying business (See
Note 11.)
Organization
Until
February 24, 2003, the Company, formerly named Lombardia Acquisition Corp.,
was
inactive and had no significant assets, liabilities or operations. On February
24, 2003, James D. Burchetta, Charles S. Brofman, and Michael S. Harris
(collectively, the “Principal Stockholders”) purchased 2,250,000 newly-issued
shares of the Company’s common stock, representing 84.6% of the then outstanding
shares, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement effective January 13, 2003
between the Company and each of the Principal Stockholders. The Board of
Directors was then reconstituted. On May 7, 2003, following approvals by the
Board of Directors and holders of a majority of the Company’s common stock, the
Company’s Certificate of Incorporation was amended to change the Company’s
corporate name to Debt Resolve, Inc. and increase the number of the Company’s
authorized shares of common stock from 20,000,000 to 50,000,000 shares. On
May
8, 2006, the Board of Directors and holders of a majority of the Company’s
common stock approved amending the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation to
increase the number of the Company’s authorized shares of common stock from
50,000,000 to 100,000,000 shares. On August 25, 2006, following approvals by
the
Board of Directors and holders of a majority of the Company’s outstanding shares
of common stock, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation was amended to
effect a reverse one-for-ten reverse split, which reduced the number of
outstanding shares of common stock from 29,703,900 to 2,970,390. On November
6,
2006, the Company completed an initial public offering consisting of 2,500,000
shares of common stock. (See Note 3.)
Development
stage activities
In
accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 7,
Accounting and Reporting by Development Stage Enterprises, from inception to
January 2007, the Company was considered to be in the development stage since
it
devoted substantially all of its efforts to establishing a new business. In
January 2007, the Company initiated operations of its debt buying subsidiary
and
purchased the outstanding capital stock of First Performance Corporation, an
accounts receivable management agency and was no longer considered a development
stage entity. The Company ceased operations of the debt buying subsidiary on
October 15, 2007. (See Note 3.)
NOTE
2.
GOING CONCERN AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:
Going
concern and management’s liquidity plans
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going
concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction
of liabilities in the normal course of business. The consolidated
financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the
recoverability and classification of asset amounts or the classification
of
liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue
as
a going concern. For the year ending December 31, 2007, the Company
had inadequate revenues and incurred a net loss of $12,143,832 from
continuing operations. Cash used in operating and investing activities of
continuing operations was $7,517,851 for the year ended December 31, 2007.
In
addition, the Company has a working capital deficiency of $3,112,500 as of
December 31, 2007. Based upon projected operating expenses, the Company believes
that its working capital as of the date of this report is not sufficient to
fund its plan of operations for the next twelve months. The aforementioned
factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a
going concern.
The
Company needs to raise additional capital in order to be able to accomplish
its
business plan objectives. The Company has historically satisfied its
capital needs primarily from the sale of debt and equity securities.
Management of the Company is continuing its efforts to secure additional
funds through debt and/or equity instruments. Management believes that it
will
be successful in obtaining additional financing; however, no assurance can
be
provided that the Company will be able to do so. There is no assurance that
these funds will be sufficient to enable the Company to attain profitable
operations or continue as a going concern. To the extent that the Company
is unsuccessful, the Company may need to curtail its operations and implement
a
plan to extend payables and reduce overhead until sufficient additional capital
is raised to support further operations. There can be no assurance that such
a
plan will be successful. These consolidated financial statements do not include
any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Subsequent
to December 31, 2007, the Company has secured additional financing from three
related parties in the aggregate amount of $167,000. In addition, the
Company has also entered into various notes payable with a bank and other
investors in the aggregate amount of $848,000. On March 31, 2008, the
Company entered into a private placement agreement with Harmonie International
LLC (“Harmonie”) for $7,000,000. As of April 14, 2008, funds under this
agreement have not been received and there is no assurance that the Company
will
receive such proceeds.
Principles
of Consolidation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts
of First Performance Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary, together with
its wholly-owned subsidiary, First Performance Recovery Corporation, and DRV
Capital LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary (“DRV Capital”), together with its wholly
owned subsidiary, EAR Capital, LLC (“EAR”). All material inter-company balances
and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Reclassifications
Certain
accounts in the prior period financial statements have been reclassified for
comparison purposes to conform with the presentation of the current period
financial statements. These reclassifications had no effect on the previously
reported loss.
Reverse
Stock Split
On
August
25, 2006, the Company effected a one-for-ten reverse stock split. All share
and
per share information herein has been retroactively restated to give effect
to
this reverse stock split.
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
The
reported amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, including accounts
payable and accrued liabilities, approximate their fair value due to their
short
maturities. The carrying amounts of debt approximate fair value because the
debt
agreements provide for interest rates that approximate market.
Cash
and
cash equivalents
For
purposes of the consolidated statements of cash flows, the Company considers
all
highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or
less
to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist of money market funds and
demand deposits. From time to time, the Company has balances in excess of the
federally insured limit.
Restricted
Cash
The
Company typically receives cash collected on behalf of its clients. Such cash
is
held in trust for the clients, and is not available to the Company for general
corporate purposes. As such, it is segregated from Cash and Cash Equivalents.
The Company takes its fee from the recovery for the client if the client is
a
“net” client, such that the fee is netted from the amount collected before
remittance. Therefore, restricted cash may exceed the balance in Collections
Payable by the amount of fees retained from recoveries.
Accounts
Receivable
The
Company extends credit to large and mid-size companies for collection services.
The Company has concentrations of credit risk as 76% of the balance of accounts
receivable at December 31, 2007 consists of only three customers. At December
31, 2007, accounts receivable from the three largest accounts amounted to
approximately $34,633 (41%), $16,277 (19%) and $13,340 (16%), respectively.
The
Company does not generally require collateral or other security to support
customer receivables. Accounts receivable are carried at their estimated
collectible amounts. Accounts receivable are periodically evaluated for
collectibility and the allowance for doubtful accounts is adjusted accordingly.
Management determines collectibility based on their experience and knowledge
of
the customers.
Fixed
Assets
Fixed
assets are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is
provided over the estimated useful life of each class of assets using the
straight-line method. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged
to
expense as incurred. Additions and betterments that substantially extend the
useful life of the asset are capitalized. Upon the sale, retirement, or other
disposition of property and equipment, the cost and related accumulated
depreciation are removed from the balance sheet, and any gain or loss on the
transaction is included in the statement of operations.
Business
Combinations
In
accordance with business combination accounting, the Company allocates the
purchase price of acquired companies to the tangible and intangible assets
acquired and liabilities assumed, based on their estimated fair values. The
Company engaged a third-party appraisal firm to assist management in determining
the fair values of First Performance Corporation. Such a valuation requires
management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with
respect to intangible assets.
Management
makes estimates of fair values based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable.
These estimates are based on historical experience and information obtained
from
the management of the acquired companies. Critical estimates in valuing certain
of the intangible assets include but are not limited to: future expected cash
flows from customer relationships and market position, as well as assumptions
about the period of time the acquired trade names will continue to be used
in
the combined company's product portfolio; and discount rates. These estimates
are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. Assumptions may be incomplete or
inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may occur which may
affect the accuracy or validity of such assumptions, estimates or actual
results. See Note 7.
Goodwill
and Intangible Assets
The
Company accounts for goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with Statement
of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 141, “Business Combinations”
(“SFAS 141”) and SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” (“SFAS
142”). Under SFAS 142, goodwill and intangibles that are deemed to have
indefinite lives are no longer amortized but, instead, are to be reviewed at
least annually for impairment. Application of the goodwill impairment test
requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning
assets and liabilities to reporting units, assigning goodwill to reporting
units, and determining the fair value. Significant judgments required to
estimate the fair value of reporting units include estimating future cash flows,
determining appropriate discount rates and other assumptions. Changes in these
estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair
value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit. Intangible assets
will
be amortized over their estimated useful lives. The Company performed an
analysis of its goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with SFAS 142
as of
June 30, 2007 and determined that an impairment charge was necessary. The
Company performed a further analysis of its intangible assets as of September
30, 2007 and determined that an additional impairment charge was necessary.
As
of December 31, 2007, an annual impairment analysis was performed and no further
impairment was necessary. See Note 7.
Use
of
Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial
statements and the accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions are
based
on management’s judgment and available information and, consequently, actual
results could be different from these estimates.
Accounts
Payable and Accrued Liabilities
Included
in accounts payable and accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2007 are accrued
professional fees of $1,003,550 and a bank overdraft of $53,454.
Income
Taxes
In
accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, Accounting
for Income Taxes, the Company uses an asset and liability approach for financial
accounting and reporting for income taxes. The basic principles of accounting
for income taxes are: (a) a current tax liability or asset is recognized for
the
estimated taxes payable or refundable on tax returns for the current year;
(b) a
deferred tax liability or asset is recognized for the estimated future tax
effects attributable to temporary differences and carryforwards; (c) the
measurement of current and deferred tax liabilities and assets is based on
provisions of the enacted tax law and the effects of future changes in tax
laws
or rates are not anticipated; and (d) the measurement of deferred tax assets
is
reduced, if necessary, by the amount of any tax benefits that, based on
available evidence, are not expected to be realized.
Effective
January 1, 2007, the Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation
Number 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, an interpretation of
FASB Statement No. 109,” (“FIN 48”). FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold
and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and
measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return.
For
those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not
to
be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. Differences between tax
positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return and the benefit
recognized and measured pursuant to the interpretation are referred to as
“unrecognized benefits”. A liability is recognized (or amount of net operating
loss carry forward or amount of tax refundable is reduced) for an unrecognized
tax benefit because it represents an enterprise’s potential future obligation to
the taxing authority for a tax position that was not recognized as a result
of
applying the provisions of FIN 48.
In
accordance with FIN 48, interest costs related to unrecognized tax benefits
are
required to be calculated (if applicable) and would be classified as “Interest
expense” in the consolidated statements of operations. Penalties would be
recognized as a component of “General and administrative expenses.”
In
many
cases, the Company’s tax positions are related to tax years that remain subject
to examination by relevant tax authorities. The Company files income tax returns
in the United States (federal) and in various state and local jurisdictions.
In
most instances, the Company is not subject to federal, state and local income
tax examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2004.
The
adoption of the provisions of FIN 48 did not have a material impact on the
Company’s consolidated financial position and results of operations. As of
December 31, 2007, no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required
to be
recorded.
The
ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation
of
future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences
become deductible. The Company considers projected future taxable income
and tax
planning strategies in making this assessment. At present, the Company does
not
have a sufficient history of income to conclude that it is more likely than
not
that the Company will be able to realize all of its tax benefits in the near
future and therefore a valuation allowance was established for the full value
of
the deferred tax asset.
At
December
31, 2007
,
the
Company had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards for income tax
purposes of approximately $19,800,000. These NOL carry forwards expire through
2027 but are limited due to section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (the
“382
Limitation”) which states that the NOL of any corporation for any year after a
greater than 50% change in control has occurred shall not exceed certain
prescribed limitations. As a result of the Initial Public Offering described
in
Note 3 Debt Resolve’s NOL carry forwards are subject to the 382 Limitation which
limits the utilization of those NOL carry forwards to approximately $650,000
per
year. The remaining federal NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company
to
offset future taxable income prior to their expiration. For First Performance,
Section 382 will limit their pre-acquisition NOL’s to approximately $35,000 per
year, due to the acquisition described in Note 5. The remaining federal
NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company to offset future taxable income
prior to their expiration. For the year ended December 31, 2007 the
difference between the Federal statutory rate and the effective rate was
due
primarily to State taxes, non-deductibility of goodwill from the First
Performance acquisition and change in the valuation allowance of approximately
$4.2 million
.
A
valuation allowance will be maintained until sufficient positive evidence exists
to support the reversal of any portion or all of the valuation allowance net
of
appropriate reserves. Should the Company continue to be profitable in future
periods with a supportable trend, the valuation allowance will be reversed
accordingly.
Revenue
Recognition
The
Company earned revenue during 2007 and 2006 from several collection agencies,
collection law firms and lenders that implemented the Company’s online system.
The Company’s current contracts provide for revenue based on a percentage of the
amount of debt collected, a flat fee per settlement from accounts submitted
on
the DebtResolve system or through a flat monthly license fee. Although other
revenue models have been proposed, most revenue earned to date has been
determined using these methods, and such revenue is recognized when the
settlement amount of debt is collected by the client. For the early adopters
of
the Company’s product, the Company waived set-up fees and other transactional
fees that the Company anticipates charging in the future. While the percent
of
debt collected will continue to be a revenue recognition method going forward,
other payment models are also being offered to clients and may possibly become
the Company’s preferred revenue model. Dependent upon the structure of future
contracts, revenue may be derived from a combination of set up fees or monthly
licensing fees with transaction fees upon debt settlement.
In
recognition of the principles expressed in Staff Accounting Bulletin 104 (“SAB
104”), that revenue should not be recognized until it is realized or realizable
and earned, and given the element of doubt associated with the collectability
of
an agreed settlement on past due debt, at this time the Company uniformly
postpones recognition of all contingent revenue until its client receives
payment from the debtor. As is required by SAB 104, revenues are considered
to
have been earned when the Company has substantially accomplished the agreed-upon
deliverables to be entitled to payment by the client. For most current active
clients, these deliverables consist of the successful collection of past due
debts using its system and/or, for clients under a licensing arrangement, the
successful availability of its system to its customers.
In
addition, in accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue 00-21,
revenue is recognized and identified according to the deliverable provided.
Set-up fees, percentage contingent collection fees, fixed settlement fees,
monthly license fees, etc. are identified separately.
For
new
contracts being implemented which include a licensing fee per account, following
the guidance of SAB 104 regarding services being rendered continuously over
time, the Company will recognize revenue based on contractual prices established
in advance and will recognize income over the contractual time periods. Where
some doubt exists on the collectability of the revenues, a valuation reserve
will be established or the income charged to losses, based on management’s
opinion regarding the collectability of those revenues.
In
January 2007, the Company initiated operations of its debt buying subsidiary,
DRV Capital. DRV Capital and its wholly-owned subsidiary, EAR Capital I, LLC,
engaged in the acquisition of pools of past due debt at a deeply discounted
price, for the purpose of collecting on those debts. Revenue was earned by
this
subsidiary under the cost recovery method when the amount of debt collected
exceeded the discounted price paid for the pool of debt. The activities of
DRV
Capital ceased as of October 15, 2007 and are reflected as discontinued
operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
On
January 19, 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of First Performance
Corporation, a collection agency, and its wholly-owned subsidiary First
Performance Recovery Corporation. First Performance follows the requirements
of
SAB 104 as does Debt Resolve. As is required by SAB 104, revenues are considered
to have been earned when the Company has substantially accomplished the
agreed-upon deliverables to be entitled to payment by the client. For most
current active clients, these deliverables consist of the successful collection
of past due debts.
Stock-based
compensation
Beginning
on January 1, 2006, the Company accounts for stock options issued under
stock-based compensation plans under the recognition and measurement principles
of SFAS No. 123(R) (“Share Based Payment”). The Company adopted the modified
prospective transition method and therefore, did not restate prior periods’
results. Total stock-based compensation expense related to these and other
stock-based grants for the year ended December 31, 2007 amounted to $2,479,180
and for the year ended December 31, 2006 amounted to $11,136,565.
The
fair
value of share-based payment awards granted during the periods was estimated
using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions
and
weighted average fair values as follows:
|
|
Years
ended
December
31,
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
Risk
free interest rate range
|
|
4.52-4.84%
|
|
4.52-4.86%
|
Dividend
yield
|
|
0%
|
|
0%
|
Expected
volatility
|
|
81.1%-96.7%
|
|
96.7%
|
Expected
life in years
|
|
3-7
|
|
3-10
|
The
fair
value of each option granted to employees and non-employees is estimated as
of
the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The estimated
fair
value of the options granted is recognized as an expense over the requisite
service period of the award, which is generally the option vesting period.
As of
December 31, 2007, total unrecognized compensation cost for these and prior
grants amounted to $211,782, all of which is expected to be recognized in
2008.
Net
loss
per share of common stock
Basic
net
loss per share excludes dilution for potentially dilutive securities and is
computed by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted
net loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if
securities or other instruments to issue common stock were exercised or
converted into common stock. Potentially dilutive securities realizable from
the
exercise of options and warrants of 3,853,434 and 2,042,770, respectively at
December 31, 2007, are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per
share as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.
The
Company’s issued and outstanding common shares as of December 31, 2007 do not
include the underlying shares exercisable with respect to the issuance of
215,439 warrants as of December 31, 2007, exercisable at $0.01 per share related
to a financing completed in June 2006. In accordance with SFAS No. 128 “Earnings
Per Share”, the Company has given effect to the issuance of these warrants in
computing basic net loss per share.
NOTE
3.
INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
On
November 6, 2006, the Company completed an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”),
pursuant to which the Company sold 2,500,000 shares of common stock at $5.00
per
share. EKN Financial Services, Inc. acted as the managing underwriter and
National Securities Corporation, Joseph Stevens & Company, Inc. and Maxim
Group LLC acted as co-underwriters.
Gross
proceeds of the IPO were $12,500,000. After deducting underwriting discounts
and
expenses and offering-related expenses, the IPO resulted in net proceeds to
the
Company of approximately $10,655,782. After the repayment of approximately
$3,650,000 in interest and a portion of the remaining principal of the Company’s
outstanding notes and convertible notes, the Company’s net cash received was
approximately $7,000,000. In connection with the IPO, an agreed-upon portion
of
the Company’s convertible notes automatically converted into 986,605 shares of
the Company’s common stock.
In
connection with its IPO, the Company recorded an expense of $909,883 for the
beneficial conversion feature of the June 2006 Private Placement, $846,660
for
the accelerated amortization of the beneficial conversion feature and related
deferred financing costs of its convertible notes of the April 2005 Private
Placement and the June/September 2005 Private Placement, $130,773 in incremental
interest payable on those financings and approximately $1,235,000 for the
recording of stock options issued at the close of the IPO.
Also
in
connection with the IPO, as well as in connection with a licensing agreement,
the Company issued to its co-Chairmen an aggregate of 1,517,434 options,
calculated to be sufficient to bring their ownership to a combined 29.2%
of the
total number of outstanding shares of common stock on a fully diluted basis
as
of the closing of the IPO, assuming the exercise of such options, valued
at
$6,828,453. (See
Note
23.)
NOTE
4.
FIXED
ASSETS:
Fixed
assets consist of the following:
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
Useful
life
|
|
2007
|
|
Computer
equipment
|
|
|
3-5
years
|
|
$
|
493,731
|
|
Computer
software
|
|
|
3
years
|
|
|
67,641
|
|
Telecommunications
equipment
|
|
|
5
years
|
|
|
3,165
|
|
Office
equipment
|
|
|
3
years
|
|
|
6,361
|
|
Furniture
and fixtures
|
|
|
5
years
|
|
|
137,865
|
|
Leasehold
improvements
|
|
|
Lease
term
|
|
|
21,081
|
|
Less:
accumulated depreciation
|
|
|
|
|
|
729,844
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(446,749
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
283,095
|
|
Depreciation
expense totaled $150,038 and $51,728 for the years ended December 31, 2007
and
2006, respectively.
On
August
31, 2007, certain First Performance assets were abandoned due to the closure
of
the Florida office. Accordingly, the Company included a charge to General and
Administrative Expenses in the amount of $68,329 related to the disposal of
these assets.
NOTE
5.
ACQUISITION
OF FIRST PERFORMANCE CORPORATION:
As
discussed in Note 1, on January 19, 2007, the Company acquired all of the
outstanding capital stock of First Performance Corporation, a Nevada corporation
(“First Performance”), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, First Performance
Recovery Corporation, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement. First Performance
is an accounts receivable management agency with operations in Las Vegas, Nevada
and formerly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The aggregate purchase price of
$850,000 included $500,000 of cash and $350,000 of the Company’s common stock,
consisting of 88,563 shares at $3.95 per share.
The
assets and liabilities of First Performance have been recorded in the Company’s
consolidated balance sheet at their fair values at the date of acquisition.
As
part of the purchase of First Performance, the Company acquired identifiable
intangible assets of approximately $450,000. Of the identifiable intangibles
acquired, $60,000 was assigned to trade names and $390,000 was assigned to
customer relationships. In accordance with SFAS 142, based on certain changes
in
the operations of First Performance, including the loss of four of its major
clients, the Company performed an interim impairment analysis at June
30, 2007 and at September 30, 2007. After analysis, no additional impairment
charge was needed at the annual assessment on December 31, 2007. See Note 7.
The
amounts of these intangibles have been estimated based upon information
available to management upon an outside appraisal. The acquired intangibles
have
been assigned definite lives and are subject to amortization, as described
in
the table below.
The
following table details amortization periods for the identifiable, amortizable
intangibles:
Intangible
Asset
|
|
Amortization
Period
|
Trade
names
|
|
10
years
|
Customer
relationships
|
|
4
years
|
The
following table details the allocation of the purchase price for the acquisition
of First Performance:
|
|
Fair
Value
|
|
Restricted
cash
|
|
$
|
157,485
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
419,167
|
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
103,082
|
|
Fixed
assets, net
|
|
|
286,229
|
|
Intangible
asset - trade names
|
|
|
60,000
|
|
Intangible
asset - customer relationships
|
|
|
390,000
|
|
Deposits
and other assets
|
|
|
51,999
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
(1,573,252
|
)
|
Net
fair values assigned to assets acquired and
|
|
|
|
|
liabilities
assumed
|
|
|
(105,290
|
)
|
Direct
costs of acquisition
|
|
|
(86,915
|
)
|
Goodwill
|
|
|
1,042,205
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
850,000
|
|
The
following represents a summary of the purchase price consideration:
Cash
|
|
$
|
500,000
|
|
Value
of common stock issued
|
|
|
350,000
|
|
Total
purchase price paid
|
|
$
|
850,000
|
|
Direct
acquisition costs
|
|
|
86,915
|
|
Total
purchase price consideration
|
|
$
|
936,915
|
|
First
Performance was purchased on January 19, 2007, and therefore only its operations
from January 19, 2007 through December 31, 2007 are included in the Company’s
consolidated financial statements. The following table presents the Company’s
unaudited pro forma combined results of operations for the years ended December
31, 2007 and 2006, respectively, as if First Performance had been acquired
at
the beginning of each of the periods.
|
|
For
the years ended
December
31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
Revenues
|
|
$
|
2,938,541
|
|
$
|
6,185,681
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(12,312,034
|
)
|
$
|
(26,926,711
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pro-forma
basic and diluted net loss per common share
|
|
$
|
(1.53
|
)
|
$
|
(6.36
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted
|
|
|
8,040,385
|
|
|
4,232,429
|
|
The
pro
forma combined results are not necessarily indicative of the results that
actually would have occurred if the First Performance acquisition had been
completed as of the beginning of 2006, nor are they necessarily indicative
of
future consolidated results.
NOTE
6.
SECURITIES
PURCHASE AGREEMENT - CREDITORS INTERCHANGE:
Securities
Purchase Agreement
On
April
30, 2007, the Company, Credint Holdings, and the holders of all of the limited
liability membership interests of Credint Holdings entered into a securities
purchase agreement for the Company to acquire 100% of the outstanding limited
liability company membership interests of Creditors Interchange, an accounts
receivable management agency and wholly-owned subsidiary of Credint Holdings.
Prior to this agreement, an agreement with Creditors Interchange for the use
by
Creditors Interchange of the Company’s DebtResolve system, and a management
services agreement pursuant to which Creditors Interchange provides management
consulting services to First Performance were in place.
The
total
consideration for the acquisition was to consist of (a) 840,337 shares of the
Company’s common stock, and (b) $60,000,000 in cash less the sum, as of the date
the acquisition is consummated, of all principal, accrued interest, prepayment
penalties and other charges in respect of Creditors Interchange’s outstanding
indebtedness. The closing date in the original agreement was June 30, 2007,
and
was extended to August 31, 2007. On August 31, 2007 the total consideration
was
reduced to $54 million with a further extension of the closing date to September
14, 2007. On September 24, 2007, the Company terminated the Securities Purchase
Agreement based on certain terms in the Purchase Agreement. As a result,
$959,811 was charged to terminated acquisition costs reflecting expenses
directly associated with the proposed transaction.
In
connection with the financing of the transaction, as well as to provide
additional working capital and to fund operations, the Company signed an
engagement letter with investment banks to explore financing alternatives.
In
2007, the Company secured financing commitments for up to $40 million in debt,
consisting of $25 million of senior secured debt and $15 million of mezzanine
debt. The Company also procured financing commitments for the balance of the
cash portion of the reduced total consideration as equity financing and had
completed a financing package for the transaction. However, the Company
terminated the securities purchase agreement due to a material adverse change
in
the financial condition of Creditors Interchange, and the financing commitments
lapsed at termination of the transaction.
Employment
Agreements
In
connection with the Purchase Agreement, the Company entered into employment
agreements with Bruce Gray and John Farinacci. Pursuant to his employment
agreement, Mr. Gray was to serve as Executive Vice President of the Company
and
President and Chief Executive Officer of Creditors Interchange. Mr. Gray was
also to be nominated to join the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Gray
was
to receive a base salary of $400,000 and options to purchase up to 400,000
shares of the Company’s common stock. Mr. Gray was also eligible for an annual
bonus based on certain performance criteria.
Pursuant
to his employment agreement with the Company, Mr. Farinacci was to serve as
President of First Performance Corporation, and Executive Vice
President-Operations of Creditors Interchange. Mr. Farinacci was also to serve
as a Senior Vice President of the Company. Mr. Farinacci was to receive a base
salary of $300,000 and options to purchase up to 400,000 shares of the Company’s
Common Stock. Mr. Farinacci was also eligible for an annual bonus based on
certain performance criteria.
While
the
employment agreements with Messrs. Gray and Farinacci were executed on April
30,
2007, both employment agreements would only be declared effective as of the
closing of the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement and
automatically terminate should the transaction not occur. The agreements
terminated on September 24, 2007, in conjunction with the termination of the
Securities Purchase Agreement.
NOTE
7.
IMPAIRMENT OF GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS
The
Company recorded $1,042,205 of goodwill in connection with its acquisition
of
First Performance (See Note 5). It also recorded $450,000 in intangible assets
related to First Performance’s trade names and customer relationships (See Note
8). The amounts of goodwill that the
Company recorded in connection with this
acquisition was determined by comparing the
aggregate amount of the purchase price plus related transaction costs
to the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable
intangible assets acquired.
In
accordance with SFAS 142, based on certain changes in the operations of First
Performance, including the loss of four of its major clients, the
Company performed an interim impairment analysis at June 30, 2007 and
at September 30, 2007. As a result of these analyses, the Company determined
that the entire amount of goodwill with respect to First Performance was
deemed to be impaired. In addition, the other intangible assets subject to
amortization were also found to be impaired, and were revalued at $270,000,
as
of June 30, 2007. Accordingly, the Company recorded a
goodwill and intangibles impairment charge in the amount of $1,179,080 as
of June 30, 2007. The Company recorded an additional $27,255 charge at September
30, 2007, revaluing the intangible assets to $225,000. The Company
completed its annual impairment analysis as of December 31, 2007 and
determined that no additional impairment charge was needed.
Making
estimates about the carrying value of goodwill requires management to exercise
significant judgment. It is reasonably possible that the estimate of the
effect on the financial statements of a condition, situation, or set
of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements,
which management considered in formulating its estimate could change in the
near
term due to one or more future confirming events.
Accordingly, the actual results regarding estimates of the
carrying value of these intangibles could differ materially from the Company's
estimates.
NOTE
8.
INTANGIBLE
ASSETS:
Intangible
assets consist exclusively of amounts related to the acquisition of First
Performance.
The
components of intangible assets as of December 31, 2007 are set forth in the
following table:
|
|
Useful
life
|
|
Original
amount
|
|
Amortization
|
|
Impairment
|
|
December
31,
2007
|
|
Trade
names
|
|
|
10
years
|
|
$
|
60,000
|
|
|
(3,554
|
)
|
|
(41,848
|
)
|
$
|
14,598
|
|
Customer
relationships
|
|
|
4
years
|
|
$
|
390,000
|
|
|
(73,468
|
)
|
|
(122,282
|
)
|
$
|
194,250
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
450,000
|
|
|
(77,022
|
)
|
|
(164,130
|
)
|
$
|
208,848
|
|
The
amortization of intangibles will result in the following additional expense
by
year:
Years
Ended December 31:
|
|
Amount
|
|
2008
|
|
$
|
64,607
|
|
2009
|
|
|
64,607
|
|
2010
|
|
|
64,607
|
|
2011
|
|
|
6,857
|
|
2012
|
|
|
1,607
|
|
Thereafter
|
|
|
6,561
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
208,848
|
|
Amortization
expense totaled $77,022 for the year ended December 31, 2007.
The
weighted average amortization period for amortizable intangibles is 3.5 years
and has no residual value.
NOTE
9.
NOTES PAYABLE AND CONVERTIBLE NOTES:
April
2005 Private Placement
In
April
2005, in a private financing that involved the issuance of 7% senior convertible
promissory notes due one year from the date of issuance, the Company received
proceeds of $800,000, initially convertible into 188,235 shares of common stock
(the “April 2005 Private Placement”). The conversion percentage on the April
2005 Private Placement was 100% upon the completion of the IPO.
The
April
2005 Private Placement contained a provision that in the event the Company
raised $4 million in equity financing, or debt financing convertible to equity,
the holders of these notes would receive shares based on 115% of the balance
of
these notes. As a result of this dilutive calculation, an aggregate of 216,472
shares of the Company’s common stock were issuable upon the conversion, at a
conversion price of $4.25 per share, discounted from the IPO price of $5.00
per
share, of 115% of the principal balance of the April 2005 Private Placement.
In
November 2006, pursuant to the close of the IPO, these notes were converted
to
216,472 shares of common stock.
As
part
of the April 2005 Private Placement, investors were issued 94,120 warrants
to
purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $4.25 per
share. As a result of the conversion and exercise price of the notes and
warrants issued in the June 2006 Private Placement (see below), and in
connection with certain anti-dilution provisions in the warrant agreement,
the
exercise price of these warrants was reduced to $2.45 per share based on the
IPO
price of $5.00 per share.
In
accordance with Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) 98-5 and EITF 00-27, the
convertible notes from the April 2005 Private Placement were considered to
have
an embedded beneficial conversion feature because the conversion price was
less
than the fair market value at the issuance date and the contingent conversion
price was less than the IPO price. See “June/September 2005 Private Placement”
below.
June/September
2005 Private Placement
In
June
2005, the Company received proceeds from an additional private financing of
7%
senior convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of
$1,250,000, due one year from the date of issuance, initially convertible at
$4.25 per share into 294,118 shares of common stock. In September 2005, the
Company received additional proceeds from the private financing of 7% senior
convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of $645,000,
due
one year from the date of issuance, initially convertible at $4.25 per share
into 151,765 shares of common stock (the “June/September 2005 Private
Placement”). The automatic conversion percentage on the June/September 2005
Private Placement was 50% upon the completion of the IPO.
As
a
result of the conversion and exercise price of the notes and warrants issued
in
the June 2006 Private Placement (see below), and in connection with certain
anti-dilution provisions in the note agreement, the exercise price of the
underlying shares related to the June/September 2005 Private Placement was
reduced to $2.67 per share based on the IPO price of $5.00 per share.
Accordingly, an aggregate of 387,014 shares of common stock were issuable upon
the conversion of 50% of the principal and accrued interest to November 6,
2006
(the closing date of the IPO - see Note 3) of the June/September 2005 Private
Placement. In November 2006, pursuant to the close of the IPO, 50% of the
principal and accrued interest was converted to 387,014 shares of common stock
and $1,033,000 was repaid in cash. (See Note 3.)
As
part
of the June/September 2005 Private Placement, investors were issued 222,955
warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price
of $4.25 per share. As a result of the conversion and exercise price of the
notes and warrants issued in the June 2006 Private Placement (see below), and
in
connection with certain anti-dilution provisions in the warrant agreement,
the
exercise price of the warrants related to the June/September 2005 Private
Placement was reduced to $2.52 per share based on the IPO price of $5.00 per
share.
In
accordance with EITF 98-5 and EITF 00-27, the convertible notes from the April
2005 Private Placement and June/September 2005 Private Placement were considered
to have an embedded beneficial conversion feature because the conversion price
was less than the fair market value at the issuance date and the contingent
conversion price was expected to be less than the IPO price. The Company
initially recorded a beneficial conversion feature and a deferred debt discount
in connection with the value of the April 2005 Private Placement and
June/September 2005 Private Placement notes and related investor warrants in
the
amount of $2,097,478, using the fair value method. Due to certain modifications
in the conversion terms of these notes, the Company recorded an incremental
beneficial conversion feature in connection with the value of the April 2005
and
June/September 2005 notes in the amount of $537,475. Such amount was amortized
over the life of the respective notes. The Company recorded amortization of
the
beneficial conversion feature and debt discount in the amount of $1,352,182
during the year ended December 31, 2006.
June
2006 Private Placement
In
order
to provide for certain cash requirements, the Company borrowed $525,000 in
the
first quarter of 2006 from new investors and existing noteholders of the
Company, at an interest rate of 2 1/2% per month, with maturity dates from
April
30, 2006 to May 17, 2006. During May 2006, these investors agreed to adopt
the
terms of the June 2006 Private Placement (see below).
On
March
15, 2006, the Company initiated a private placement involving the issuance
of
12% convertible promissory notes due one year from the date of issuance (“the
March 2006 Private Placement Term Sheet”). The Company had raised $300,000 under
this offering
.
Investors in the March 2006 Private Placement Term Sheet later agreed to adopt
the terms of a second supplement to the March 2006 Private Placement Term Sheet,
dated May 31, 2006 (“the May 2006 Private Placement Term Sheet Supplement”)
which became the basis for the Company’s June 2006 Private Placement (see
below).
On
May
31, 2006, the Company issued the May 2006 Private Placement Term Sheet
Supplement with respect to the June 2006 Private Placement. The Company raised
a
total of $3,481,762 (the “June 2006 Private Placement”), including $977,012 of
principal and accrued interest rolled in from existing noteholders. Of this
total, $800,000 was invested by a lead investor, to which the Company issued
a
non-convertible 15% senior secured promissory note, repayable the earlier of
October 31, 2006 or at the time of the conclusion of the Company’s IPO. The
remainder of the notes issued in connection with this offering were 15% senior
secured convertible promissory notes repayable the earlier of October 31, 2006
or at the time of the Company’s
conclusion
of its IPO
.
Subsequently, the maturity of the 15% non-convertible and 15% convertible notes
were extended to December 31, 2006. These notes were only convertible contingent
upon the closing of an
IPO.
In
November 2006, pursuant to the close of the IPO, an aggregate of 383,119 shares
of the Company’s common stock was issued upon the conversion, at a conversion
price equal to 70% of the IPO price of $5.00 per share, of 50% of the $2,681,762
principal amount of the convertible notes.
The
June
2006 Private Placement promissory notes contained a provision that in the event
their repayment occurred after August 30, 2006, they were repayable at 107.5%
of
the principal amount plus accrued interest to the date of repayment.
Accordingly, since the notes were still outstanding as of August 30, 2006,
the
Company recorded a charge to interest expense of approximately $260,000. Prior
to the Company’s IPO, one investor and one of the Company’s underwriters
relinquished 36,923 warrants exercisable at $0.01 per share. Investors in the
June 2006 Private Placement were also issued 1,160,598 warrants to purchase
shares of the Company’s stock at $0.01 per share. Certain related parties
participated in this offering and, in partial exchange for their investment
of
$342,014, received 114,005 of such warrants. In November 2006, pursuant
to
the
close of the IPO, in addition to the 50% of the principal was converted to
383,119 shares of common stock, $2,533,610 was repaid in cash, representing
57.5% of the principal amount of the notes. (See Note 3).
The
Company evaluated the provisions of the aforementioned notes under EITF 00-19
and EITF 05-4, View A, “The Effect of a Liquidated Damages Clause on a
Freestanding Financial Instrument” and accordingly classified the aforementioned
warrants and registration rights agreement as equity. The gross proceeds of
$3,481,762 associated with the June 2006 Private Placement were recorded net
of
a discount of $2,176,101, related to the fair value of the warrants. The debt
discount of $2,176,101 was accreted until the note matured at the time of the
IPO. Accordingly, the Company recorded a charge of $2,176,101 for the year
ended
December 31, 2006. Upon the close of the IPO on November 6, 2006, based on
a
conversion price equal to 70% of the IPO price of $5.00 per share, the Company
recorded an expense for the beneficial conversion feature of these notes in
the
amount of $909,883. (See Note 3.)
Other
Borrowings
On
November 30, 2007, an unaffiliated investor loaned the Company $100,000 on
a
90-day short term note. The note carries 12% interest per annum, with interest
payable monthly in cash. The principal balance outstanding will be due at
any
time upon 30 days written notice, subject to mandatory prepayment (without
penalty) of principal and interest, in whole or in part, from the net cash
proceeds of any public or private, equity or debt financing made by Debt
Resolve. As of December 31, 2007, there were 59 days left to maturity on
the
note. The note matured on February 28, 2008 and was extended to March 31,
2008
for an extension fee of $5,000. On March 31, 2008, the note was amended again
to
extend the term of the note to April 30, 2008 for another extension fee of
$5,000. In conjunction with the note the Company also issued a warrant to
purchase 100,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.25 per
share
with an expiration date of November 30, 2012. The note was recorded net of
a
debt discount of $44,100, based on the relative fair value of the warrant.
The
debt discount is being amortized over the term of the note. During the year
ended December 31, 2007, the Company recorded amortization of the debt discount
related to this note of $14,700. This note is guaranteed by Mssrs. Mooney
and
Burchetta.
On
December 21, 2007, an unaffiliated investor introduced to the Company by
The
Resolution Group of Newport Beach, California loaned the Company $125,000
on an
18 month note with a maturity date of June 21, 2009. The note carries interest
at a rate of 12% per annum, with interest accruing and payable at maturity.
The
outstanding principal and interest may be repaid, in whole or in part, at
any
time without prepayment penalty. The note is secured by the assets of the
Company. In conjunction with the note, a warrant to purchase 37,500 shares
of
common stock was granted at an exercise price of $1.07 and an expiration
date of
December 21, 2012. The note was recorded net of a deferred debt discount
of
$19,375, based on the relative fair value of the warrant. The debt discount
is
being amortized over the term of the note. This note is guaranteed by Mr.
Burchetta.
On
December 30, 2007, an unaffiliated investor introduced to the Company by
The
Resolution Group of Newport Beach, California loaned the Company $200,000 on an
18 month note with a maturity date of June 30, 2009. The note carries interest
at a rate of 12% per annum, with interest accruing and payable at maturity.
The
outstanding principal and interest may be repaid, in whole or in part, at
any
time without prepayment penalty. The note is secured by the assets of the
Company. In conjunction with this note, the Company also issued a warrant
to
purchase 100,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 and
an
expiration date of December 30, 2012. The note was recorded net of a deferred
debt discount of $51,600, based on the relative fair value of the warrant.
The
debt discount is being amortized over the term of the note. This note is
guaranteed by Mr. Burchetta.
Deferred
Financing Costs
The
Company incurred costs in conjunction with the April 2005 private financing,
the
June/September 2005 private financing and the June 2006 Private Placement.
Total
cash fees associated with the April 2005 and June/September 2005 private
financings were $219,350. In addition, the placement agent was issued warrants
to purchase 33,600 shares of common stock first valued at $109,414. Subsequent
to the June 2006 Private Placement, these warrants were re-priced, and the
Company recorded additional deferred financing costs for the incremental value
in the amount of $8,621. Maxim Group LLC and Capital Growth Financial (“CGF”)
acted as the placement agents in the June 2006 Private Placement. Total cash
fees associated with the June 2006 Private Placement were $365,318. In addition,
the Company recorded deferred financing costs of $110,617 for the value of
31,508 placement agent warrants issued in connection with this financing,
although Maxim Group LLC subsequently relinquished its portion of such warrants,
or 8,644 warrants. The total of fees and the value of the warrants have been
recorded as deferred financing costs and were amortized over the life of the
notes, until their maturity at the IPO. Amortization of deferred financing
costs
for the 2006 and 2005 private financings totaled $665,105 for the year ended
December 31, 2006.
NOTE
10.
LINES
OF
CREDIT:
First
Performance had a line of credit on the date of the Company’s acquisition. The
outstanding balance as of January 19, 2007 of $150,000 was repaid during the
year ended December 31, 2007, and the line of credit was
terminated.
On
May
31, 2007, the Company entered into a line of credit agreement with Arisean
Capital, Ltd. (“Arisean”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow from time to
time up to $500,000 from Arisean to be used by the Company to fund its working
capital needs. Borrowings under the line of credit are secured by the assets
of
the Company and bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum, with interest payable
monthly in cash. The principal balance outstanding will be due at any time
upon
30 days written notice, subject to mandatory prepayment (without penalty) of
principal and interest, in whole or in part, from the net cash proceeds of
any
public or private, equity or debt financing completed by the Company. Arisean’s
obligation to lend such funds to the Company is subject to a number of
conditions, including review by Arisean of the proposed use of such funds by
the
Company. Arisean is controlled by Charles S. Brofman, the Co-Chairman of the
Company and a member of its Board of Directors. As of December 31, 2007, the
outstanding balance on this line of credit was $576,000. The Company incurred
interest expense related to this line of credit of $34,492 during the year
ended
December 31, 2007.
On
August
10, 2007, the Company entered into a line of credit agreement with James D.
Burchetta, Debt Resolve’s CEO and Co-Chairman, for up to $100,000 to be used to
fund the working capital needs of Debt Resolve and First Performance. Borrowings
under the line of credit bear interest at 12% per annum, with interest payable
monthly in cash. The principal balance outstanding will be due at any time
upon
30 days written notice, subject to mandatory prepayment (without penalty) of
principal and interest, in whole or in part, from the net cash proceeds of
any
public or private, equity or debt financing made by Debt Resolve. As of December
31, 2007, the Company has borrowed $135,000 under this line of credit. The
Company incurred interest expense related to this line of credit of $6,207
during the year ended December 31, 2007.
On
October 17, 2007, the Company entered into a line of credit agreement with
William M. Mooney, a Director of Debt Resolve, for up to $275,000 to be used
primarily to fund the working capital needs of First Performance. Borrowings
under the line of credit will bear interest at 12% per annum, with interest
payable monthly in cash. The principal balance outstanding will be due at
any
time upon 30 days written notice, subject to mandatory prepayment (without
penalty) of principal and interest, in whole or in part, from the net cash
proceeds of any public or private, equity or debt financing made by Debt
Resolve. In conjunction with this line of credit, the Company also issued
a
warrant to purchase
137,500
shares
of
common stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share with an expiration date
of
October 17, 2012. The note was recorded net of a deferred debt discount of
$117,700, based on the relative fair value of the warrant. The debt discount
is
being amortized over the term of the note. During the year ended December
31,
2007, the Company recorded amortization of $117,700 of the debt discount
related
to this note. As of December 31, 2007, the Company has borrowed $300,000
under
this line of credit. This note is guaranteed by Mr. Burchetta and Mr.
Brofman.
NOTE
11.
DRV
CAPITAL
LLC - DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS: (See Note 21)
On
June
5, 2006, the Company formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, DRV Capital LLC. This
subsidiary was formed to potentially purchase portfolios of defaulted consumer
debt and attempt to collect on that debt, but at December 31, 2006 was not
yet
operational. In December 2006, the Company formed a wholly-owned subsidiary
of
DRV Capital, EAR Capital I, LLC, for the limited purpose of purchasing and
holding pools of debt funded in part by borrowings from Sheridan Asset
Management, LLC (“Sheridan”).
On
December 22, 2006, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, EAR Capital
I,
LLC, as borrower, and DRV Capital, LLC, as servicer, entered into a $20.0
million secured debt financing facility pursuant to a Master Loan and Servicing
Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2006, with Sheridan Asset Management, LLC
(“Sheridan”), as lender, to finance the purchase of distressed consumer debt
portfolios from time to time. The facility generally provides for a 90.0%
advance rate with respect to each qualified debt portfolio purchased. Interest
accrues at 12% per annum and is payable monthly. Notes issued under the facility
are collateralized by the distressed consumer debt portfolios that are purchased
with the proceeds of the loans. Each note has a maturity date not to exceed
a
maximum of 24 months after the borrowing date. Once the notes are repaid and
the
Company has been repaid its investment (generally 10% of the purchase price),
the Company and Sheridan share the residual collections from the debt
portfolios, net of servicing fees, as per the terms specified in each
acquisition agreement. The sharing in residual cash flows continues for the
entire economic life of the debt portfolios financed using this facility and
will extend beyond the expiration date of the facility. The Company is required
to give Sheridan the opportunity to fund all of its purchases of distressed
consumer debt with advances through December 21, 2008. As of October 15, 2007,
DRV Capital operations were suspended, and all remaining portfolios were sold.
During the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company performed a revaluation
of
the remaining receivables and recorded a decline in value of $74,920. Management
of the Company made a strategic decision in October 2007 to suspend the purchase
of debt portfolios on the open market in order to focus on the Company’s core
business. As a result, the operations of DRV Capital have been classified as
discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial
statements.
The
following tables represent the activity with respect to purchased receivables
and financings for those receivables for the year ended December 31,
2007.
Purchased
Accounts Receivable
|
|
|
|
Beginning
balance - January 1, 2007
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
Purchases
|
|
|
607,994
|
|
Liquidations
|
|
|
(123,753
|
)
|
Sale
of pools
|
|
|
(409,321
|
)
|
Write
downs
|
|
|
(74,920
|
)
|
Ending
balance - December 31, 2007
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portfolio
Loans Payable:
|
|
|
|
Beginning
balance - January 1, 2007
|
|
$
|
|
|
Borrowings
|
|
|
547,195
|
|
Repayments
|
|
|
(547,195
|
)
|
Ending
balance - December 31, 2007
|
|
$
|
|
|
NOTE
12.
STOCKHOLDERS’
DEFICIENCY
During
the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company issued 2,500,000 shares of common
stock through an initial public offering for gross proceeds of $12,500,000
and
incurred expenses of the offering of $1,844,219. (See Note 3.)
During
the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company issued 12,000 shares of common
stock to a consultant and recorded an expense of the issuance of $60,000.
During
the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company issued 986,605 shares of common
stock in partial repayment of convertible notes issued in 2005 and 2006 and
accrued interest aggregating $3,174,181.
During
the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company received cash proceeds of $18,917
from the exercise of warrants to purchase 35,417 shares of common
stock.
During
the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, the Company recorded compensation
expense representing the amortized amount of the fair value of options granted
to advisory board members in 2003, 2004 and 2005, of $15,436 and $172,714,
respectively.
During
the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company issued 88,563 shares of common
stock valued at $350,000 as part of the consideration for the purchase of First
Performance Corporation.
During
the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company completed a private placement
for
gross proceeds approximating $1,760,000 for the sale of 880,000 shares of common
stock. In conjunction with this transaction, the Company issued an aggregate
of
440,000 warrants to purchase common stock to the investors and 88,000 warrants
to purchase common stock to the placement agent. Each warrant is exercisable
at
$2.00 per share for a term of five years. The common stock and warrants have
“piggy-back” registration rights on the Company’s next registration statement if
the required private placement holding period has not previously elapsed.
Subsequent to the offering, the private placements holding period
elapsed.
During
the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company received cash proceeds of $198,385
from the exercise of warrants to purchase 1,001,388 shares of common
stock.
NOTE
13.
STOCK
OPTIONS:
As
of
December 31, 2007, the Company has one stock-based employee compensation
plan. The 2005 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2005 Plan”) was approved
by the stockholders on June 14, 2005 and provides for the issuance of options
and restricted stock grants to officers, directors, key employees and
consultants of the Company to purchase up to 900,000 shares of common
stock.
A
summary
of option activity within the 2005 Plan during the year ended December 31,
2007
is presented below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
Average
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
|
|
Remaining
|
|
Aggregate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercise
|
|
Contractual
|
|
Intrinsic
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Price
|
|
Term
|
|
Value
|
|
Outstanding
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
261,000
|
|
$
|
5.00
|
|
|
3.9
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
632,000
|
|
$
|
4.63
|
|
|
4.7
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Exercised
|
|
|
—
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Forfeited
or expired
|
|
|
(73,000
|
)
|
$
|
4.20
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Outstanding
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
820,000
|
|
$
|
4.79
|
|
|
4.2
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Exercisable
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
679,000
|
|
$
|
4.78
|
|
|
4.0
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
As
of
December 31, 2007, the Company had 141,000 unvested options within the 2005
Plan.
On
February 1, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 30,000 shares of its
common stock
exercisable
at $4.04 per share to
a
new
employee
.
The
stock
options
have an exercise period of five years and vest 30% at issuance, 30% in nine
months and 40% on the anniversary of issuance. The grant was valued at
$91,200
,
is
being expensed over the vesting period and resulted in an expense during the
year ended December 31, 2007 of $81,067. Due to a reduction in force, the
employee left the Company on November 30, 2007 and forfeited the final vesting
of the options (10,000).
On
February 28, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 20,000 shares of
its
common stock
exercisable
at $4.10 per share to
a
new
board member
.
The
stock
options
have an exercise period of five years, vest 50% at issuance and 50% on the
anniversary of issuance, were valued at $61,600
,
are
being expensed over the vesting period and resulted in an expense during the
year ended December 31, 2007 of $56,467.
On
April
4, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 75,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $3.70 per share to a new employee. The stock options have
an exercise period of seven years and vest 25% at issuance, 25% at six months,
25% at eighteen months and 25% at thirty months after the grant date. The grant
was valued at $210,750, will be expensed over the one year employment contract
term and resulted in expense during the year ended December 31, 2007 of
$149,281. On November 15, 2007, the employee left the Company to pursue other
interests and forfeited the final two vestings of the options
(37,500).
On
April
27, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 75,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $4.75 per share to a new employee. The stock options have
an exercise period of seven years and vest 33% on the first, second and third
anniversary of the grant date. The grant was valued at $270,750, is being
expensed over the one year employment contract term and resulted in expense
during the year ended December 31, 2007 of $180,500.
On
April
27, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 278,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $4.75 per share to four current employees. The stock
options have an exercise period of seven years. Of the grant, 276,500 options
vest immediately and 1,500 options vest on the first anniversary of the grant
date. The grant was valued at $1,003,580, were expensed immediately except
for
the grant vesting over the first year and resulted in expense during the
year
ended December 31, 2007 of $1,001,775.
On
April
27, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 154,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $5.00 per share to six current employees as an extension
of
expiring three year non-plan options. The stock options have an exercise period
of four years, providing the grantees with the equivalent of a seven year grant,
as all new options granted now have a seven year term. Of the grant, options
to
purchase 77,000 shares vest immediately and options to purchase the remaining
77,000 shares vest on the first anniversary of the grant date. The grant was
valued at $446,600, the expense associated with the first 77,000 shares were
expensed immediately and the remainder are being expensed over the one year
vesting period and resulted in a charge during the year ended December 31,
2007
of $318,122.
A
summary
of stock option activity outside the 2005 Plan during the year ended December
31, 2007 is presented below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
Average
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
|
|
Remaining
|
|
Aggregate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercise
|
|
Contractual
|
|
Intrinsic
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Price
|
|
Term
|
|
Value
|
|
Outstanding
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
3,147,434
|
|
$
|
4.96
|
|
|
6.4
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
50,000
|
|
$
|
4.75
|
|
|
6.3
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Exercised
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Forfeited
or Expired
|
|
|
(164,000
|
)
|
$
|
5.30
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Outstanding
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
3,033,434
|
|
$
|
4.97
|
|
|
6.3
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
Exercisable
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
3,033,434
|
|
$
|
4.78
|
|
|
6.3
Years
|
|
$
|
|
|
On
April
27, 2007, the Company issued options to purchase 50,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $4.75 per share to a current employee. The stock options
vest immediately and have an exercise period of seven years. The grant was
valued at $180,500 and was expensed immediately.
As
of
December 31, 2007, the Company had no unvested stock options outside the 2005
Plan.
The
Company recorded stock based compensation expense representing the amortized
amount of the fair value of options granted in 2006 in the amount of $361,461
during the year ended December 31, 2007.
Stock
based compensation for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 was recorded
in the consolidated statements of operations as follows:
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
Payroll
and related expenses
|
|
$
|
2,223,387
|
|
$
|
2,839,562
|
|
General
and administrative expenses
|
|
$
|
255,794
|
|
$
|
1,235,836
|
|
NOTE
14.
WARRANTS:
A
summary
of warrant activity as of January 1, 2007 and changes during the year ended
December 31, 2007 is presented below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
|
|
Average
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
|
|
Remaining
|
|
Aggregate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercise
|
|
Contractual
|
|
Intrinsic
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Price
|
|
Term
|
|
Value
|
|
Outstanding
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
2,091,158
|
|
$
|
1.44
|
|
|
3.1
Years
|
|
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
1,003,000
|
|
$
|
1.70
|
|
|
4.6
Years
|
|
|
|
|
Exercised
|
|
|
(1,001,388
|
)
|
$
|
0.20
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
Forfeited
or Expired
|
|
|
(50,000
|
)
|
$
|
3.85
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
2,042,770
|
|
$
|
1.60
|
|
|
3.0
Years
|
|
$
|
235,052
|
|
Exercisable
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
1,817,770
|
|
$
|
1.79
|
|
|
3.3
Years
|
|
$
|
235,052
|
|
As
of
December 31, 2007, there were 225,000 unvested warrants to purchase shares
of
common stock.
On
March
1, 2007 the Company issued a warrant to purchase 100,000 shares of its common
stock exercisable at $3.85 per share to a consultant. The warrant has an
exercise period of three years, which vests 25% at issuance and 25% at three,
nine and nine months from issuance. The warrant was valued at $240,000. On
June
30, 2007, warrants for 50,000 shares of common stock were cancelled due to
termination of the consultant’s services. During the year ended December 31,
2007, the Company recognized an expense relating to this grant of
$134,571.
NOTE
15.
LITIGATION:
On
January
8, 2007, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apollo
Enterprise Solutions, LLC (“Apollo”) in federal court in New Jersey. The
suit alleges that Apollo’s online debt collection system infringes one or
more claims of the patents-in-suit, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,330,551 and
6,954,741. The Company claims that it has exclusive rights under these and
certain other patents with respect to the settlement of consumer
debt.
A change
of venue moved the suit to the Southern District of New York.
In
response to the Company’s complaint, Apollo (i) filed a motion to dismiss for an
alleged lack of personal jurisdiction and, (ii) on January 29, 2007, filed
a
mirror lawsuit against the Company in federal court in the Central District
of
California which seeks a declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity
with respect to these patents. The Company filed a motion to dismiss, transfer
or stay the California case in preference to the first-filed New Jersey case.
That motion
has
been
granted by the court, and the California case has been stayed in preference
to
the New Jersey case
.
In the
New Jersey case, the Court issued an order requiring the parties to submit
a
series of briefs showing why the case should not be transferred from New Jersey
to the District of Delaware, the Southern District of New York or the Central
District of California. The New Jersey Court subsequently denied Apollo’s motion
to transfer the case to California and granted the Company’s request in the
alternative that the case be heard in New York if the Court decided it should
not stay in New Jersey. The case was transferred to federal court in the
Southern District of New York where it remains pending at a preliminary stage.
The mirror action that Apollo filed against the Company in California has been
dismissed without prejudice by the parties. On November, 5, 2007, the Company
and Apollo jointly announced that they had reached a settlement of the pending
patent infringement lawsuit. The parties came to agreement that Apollo’s system,
as represented by Apollo, does not infringe on United States Patents Nos.
6,330,551 and 6,954,741, both entitled Computerized Dispute Resolution System
and Method. The parties further agreed to respect each other’s intellectual
property to the extent it is validly patent protected with the parties reserving
all of their legal rights.
Our
First
Performance subsidiary received an action under the Texas Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act and the Telephone Act. The plaintiff is seeking $10,000 in
damages. The Company is vigorously defending this matter as it believes that
the
claim has no merit.
From
time
to time, the Company is involved in various litigation in the ordinary course
of
business. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these
matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial
position or results of operations.
NOTE
16.
INCOME
TAXES:
The
reconciliation of the statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective
income tax rate is as follows:
|
|
Year
ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
Tax
benefit at statutory rate
|
|
|
(34.00
|
)%
|
|
(34.00
|
)%
|
State
and local income taxes net of federal
|
|
|
(5.00
|
)
|
|
(5.00
|
)
|
Non-deductible
expenses
|
|
|
0.10
|
|
|
—
|
|
Impairment
of goodwill
|
|
|
3.76
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization
of intangibles
|
|
|
0.24
|
|
|
|
|
Change
in estimate of prior year tax provision
|
|
|
0.87
|
|
|
|
|
Increase
in valuation allowance
|
|
|
34.03
|
|
|
25.84
|
|
Effective
tax rate
|
|
|
0.00
|
%
|
|
0.00
|
%
|
Deferred
income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the
carrying amounts of assets for financial reporting purposes and the amount
used
for income tax purposes. The Company’s deferred tax assets are as
follows:
|
|
December
31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
Deferred
tax asset:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accrued
expenses
|
|
$
|
89,314
|
|
$
|
130,454
|
|
Other
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,536
|
|
Stock
based compensation
|
|
|
6,037,328
|
|
|
5,229,645
|
|
Net
operating loss carryforward
|
|
|
7,725,032
|
|
|
4,219,468
|
|
Deferred
tax asset
|
|
|
13,851,674
|
|
|
9,594,124
|
|
Less:
valuation allowance
|
|
|
(13,851,674
|
)
|
|
(9,594,124
|
)
|
Net
deferred tax asset
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
|
|
Increase
in valuation allowance
|
|
$
|
4,257,550
|
|
$
|
6,615,860
|
|
Due
to
the uncertainty surrounding the realization of the benefits of the deferred
tax
assets, the Company provided a valuation allowance for the entire amount of
the
deferred tax asset at December 31, 2007 and 2006. At December 31, 2007, the
Company had net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $19,452,000 which
expire at various dates through 2027.
At
December
31, 2007
,
the
Company had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards for income tax
purposes of approximately $19,800,000. These NOL carry forwards expire through
2027 but are limited due to section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (the
“382
Limitation”) which states that the NOL of any corporation for any year after a
greater than 50% change in control has occurred shall not exceed certain
prescribed limitations. As a result of the Initial Public Offering described
in
Note 3 Debt Resolve’s NOL carry forwards are subject to the 382 Limitation which
limits the utilization of those NOL carry forwards to approximately $650,000
per
year. The remaining federal NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company
to
offset future taxable income prior to their expiration. For First Performance,
Section 382 will limit their pre-acquisition NOL’s to approximately $35,000 per
year, due to the acquisition described in note 5. The remaining federal
NOL carry forwards may be used by the Company to offset future taxable income
prior to their expiration. For the year ended December 31, 2007 the
difference between the Federal statutory rate and the effective rate was
due
primarily to State taxes, non-deductibility of goodwill from the First
Performance acquisition and change in the valuation allowance of approximately
$4.2 million
.
NOTE
17.
OPERATING
LEASES:
On
August
1, 2005, the Company entered into a five year lease for its corporate
headquarters which includes annual escalations in rent. Since that date, in
accordance with SFAS No. 13, “Accounting for Leases,” (“SFAS 13”) the Company
accounts for rent expense using the straight line method of accounting, accruing
the difference between actual rent due and the straight line amount. At December
31, 2007, accrued rent payable totaled $14,894.
The
Company also leased an office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida under a non-cancelable
operating lease that expires January 31, 2009 and called for monthly payments
of
$22,481. Until August 31, 2007, the monthly payment has been reduced by a $5,000
abatement to $17,481 per month. In July 2007, the Company negotiated an early
cancellation of the Florida lease whereby the rent obligation terminated on
August 31, 2007.
The
Company
continues to lease an office in Las Vegas, Nevada under a non-cancelable
operating lease that expires July 31, 2014 and calls for escalating monthly
payments of $21,644. At December 31, 2007, accrued rent payable related to
this
lease totaled $21,172.
Rent
expense for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 was $530,897 and
$123,328, respectively.
As
of
December 31, 2007, future minimum rental payments under the above non-cancelable
operating leases are as follows:
For
the Years Ending
December
31,
|
|
Amount
|
|
2008
|
|
$
|
387,029
|
|
2009
|
|
|
389,892
|
|
2010
|
|
|
335,657
|
|
2011
|
|
|
259,728
|
|
2012
|
|
|
259,728
|
|
Thereafter
|
|
|
411,236
|
|
|
|
$
|
2,043,270
|
|
NOTE
18.
EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENTS:
The
Company is party to an employment agreement with Mr. Burchetta as of April
1,
2005. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will pay Mr. Burchetta
an
annual base salary of $250,000 per year, and thereafter his base salary will
continue at that level, subject to adjustments approved by the compensation
committee of the board of directors, and (2) the employment term will extend
for
five years after the final closing of our June/September 2005 private
financing.
In
addition to the agreement above, the Company had entered into employment
agreements with Katherine A. Dering, our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
and
Secretary, and Richard G. Rosa, our President and Chief Technology Officer.
Under the employment agreements with Ms. Dering and Mr. Rosa, which had terms
that expired on August 1, 2006 and February 23, 2006, respectively, they
received an annual salary of $150,000 and $200,000, respectively. The employment
agreements with Ms. Dering and Mr. Rosa require the full-time services of such
employees. The employment agreement with Ms. Dering provides that if her
position is eliminated due to a merger or other business combination, we will
provide her with a severance payment equal to one month of compensation and
benefits for every month of employment with us through the elimination date,
up
to a maximum of 12 months, and all stock options previously granted to her
will
immediately vest and remain exercisable for their full term. Ms. Dering’s
contract was amended on May 1, 2007 to appoint her to the position of Senior
Vice President, Finance upon David M. Rainey becoming the Chief Financial
Officer. Ms. Dering retired effective September 1, 2007. On May 20, 2006, Mr.
Rosa’s contract was extended to August 1, 2007. Mr. Rosa remained with the
Company subsequent to August 1, 2007 on an informal arrangement continuing
the
terms of his contract. Mr. Rosa resigned from the Company effective December
31,
2007 to pursue other opportunities.
On
April
23, 2007, Anthony P. Canale was appointed to the position of General Counsel
of
the Company. Mr. Canale’s employment agreement provides for a base salary of
$175,000 with certain bonus provisions. Mr. Canale was also awarded 75,000
options vesting 25% on the date of hire, 25% in six months, 25% in eighteen
months and 25% in 30 months. The employment agreement has a one year renewable
term. On November 15, 2007, Mr. Canale resigned from the Company. The final
two
vestings of the options were forfeited at the time of resignation.
On
May 1,
2007, David M. Rainey joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer on the planned retirement of Ms. Dering. Mr. Rainey has a one year
contract that renews automatically unless 90 days notice of intention not to
renew is given by the Company. Mr. Rainey’s base salary is $200,000, subject to
annual increases at the discretion of the board of directors. Mr. Rainey also
received a grant of 75,000 options to purchase the common stock of the company,
one third of which vest on the first, second and third anniversaries of the
start of employment with the Company. The value of the options on the date
of
grant was $270,750, which are being expensed over the one year term of Mr.
Rainey’s contract. Mr. Rainey’s contract also provides for one month of
severance and benefits per month of service up to 12 months for any termination
without cause. Upon a change in control, Mr. Rainey receives one year severance
and bonus with benefits and immediate vesting of all stock options then
outstanding.
NOTE
19.
EMPLOYEE
BENEFIT PLANS:
Beginning
January 1, 2006, the Company sponsors an employee savings plan designed to
qualify under Section 401K of the Internal Revenue Code. This plan is for all
employees who were employed by the Company at December 31, 2005 or who have
completed 1,000 hours of service. Company contributions are made in the form
of
the employee’s investment choices and vest immediately. Matching contributions
by the Company for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 were $36,839
and
$60,443, respectively.
Effective
with the acquisition of First Performance on January 19, 2007, the Company
also
sponsors the First Performance employee savings plan, for all employees of
First
Performance who have completed 1,000 hours of service. During 2007, this
plan terminated and did not include a company matching
contribution.
In
February 2008, the Company merged this plan and its existing 401(k) plan into
a
new safe harbor plan, giving First Performance employees a company match. The
plan provides for a one year vesting period for all employees. Company
contributions are made in the form of the employee’s investment choices and vest
over the first six years of the employee’s service to the Company.
NOTE
20.
SEGMENT
DATA:
Prior
to
January
2007
,
the
Company had minimal revenue through the DebtResolve System. As discussed
in Note 1, on
January
19, 2007
,
the
Company acquired First Performance, an accounts receivable management
agency. Also, in
January
2007
,
the
Company initiated operations of its debt buying subsidiary. Accordingly,
as of
January
2007
,
the
Company is no longer considered a development stage entity, and operated in
three segments: Internet Services (internet debt resolution software and
services offered to creditors and collection agencies), Debt Buying (defaulted
consumer debt buying), and a Collection Agency (consumer debt
collections). On
October
15, 2007
,
the
Company ceased its operations of the Debt Buying segment (Note 21) and now
operates its Internet Services and Collection Agency segments.
Accordingly, the following table summarizes financial information about the
Company’s business segments as of
December
31, 2007
:
|
|
Year
Ended December 31, 2007
|
|
|
|
Internet
Services
|
|
Collection
Agency
|
|
Corporate
|
|
Consolidated
|
|
Revenues
|
|
$
|
67,449
|
|
$
|
2,778,374
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
2,845,823
|
|
Loss
from operations
|
|
$
|
(7,150,522
|
)
|
$
|
(3,965,194
|
)
|
$
|
(865,134
|
)
|
$
|
(11,980,850
|
)
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
$
|
56,938
|
|
$
|
170,122
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
227,060
|
|
Goodwill
& intangibles impairment charge
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
(1,206,335
|
)
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
(1,206,335
|
)
|
Interest
expense
,
net of interest income
|
|
$
|
(16,426
|
)
|
$
|
(6,040
|
)
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
(22,466
|
)
|
Capital
expenditures
|
|
$
|
35,463
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
35,463
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
774,389
|
|
$
|
486,354
|
|
$
|
|
|
$
|
1,060,743
|
|
NOTE
21.
DISCONTINUED
OPERATIONS
On
October 15, 2007, the Company ceased operations of DRV Capital, and
EAR.
In
accordance with SFAS 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of
Long-Lived Assets” (“SFAS 144”), the Company has reported these subsidiaries’
results for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 as discontinued
operations because the operations and cash flows have been eliminated from
the
Company’s continuing operations.
Components
of discontinued operations are as follows:
|
|
Year
ended
December
31,
|
|
Year
ended
December
31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
Revenue
|
|
$
|
3,334
|
|
$
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payroll
and related expenses
|
|
|
207,654
|
|
|
|
|
General
and administrative expense s
|
|
|
209,302
|
|
|
53,579
|
|
Total
expenses
|
|
|
416,956
|
|
|
53,579
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
from operations
|
|
|
(413,622
|
)
|
|
(53,579
|
)
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(38,463
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss from discontinued operations
|
|
$
|
(452,085
|
)
|
$
|
(53,579
|
)
|
NOTE
22.
RECENTLY
ISSUED AND PROPOSED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS:
In
February 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard
155 - Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments (“SFAS 155”), which
eliminates the exemption from applying SFAS 133 to interests in securitized
financial assets so that similar instruments are accounted for similarly
regardless of the form of the instruments. SFAS 155 also allows the election
of
fair value measurement at acquisition, at issuance, or when a previously
recognized financial instrument is subject to a remeasurement event. Adoption
is
effective for all financial instruments acquired or issued after the beginning
of the first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006. Early
adoption is permitted. The adoption of SFAS 155 did not have a material effect
on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
March 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 156
- Accounting for Servicing of Financial Assets (“SFAS 156”), which requires all
separately recognized servicing assets and servicing liabilities be initially
measured at fair value. SFAS 156 permits, but does not require, the subsequent
measurement of servicing assets and servicing liabilities at fair value.
Adoption is required as of the beginning of the first fiscal year that begins
after September 15, 2006. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of SFAS
156 is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s financial
position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard
157 -
Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS No. 157”). SFAS No. 157 defines fair value,
establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure of
fair
value measurements. SFAS No. 157 applies under other accounting
pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements and accordingly,
does not require any new fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 is
effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after
November 15, 2007. The Company does not expect that the adoption of
SFAS No. 157 will have a material impact on its results of operations and
financial condition.
In
November 2006, the EITF reached a final consensus in EITF Issue 06-6 “Debtor’s
Accounting for a Modification (or Exchange) of Convertible Debt Instruments”
(“EITF 06-6”). EITF 06-6 addresses the modification of a convertible debt
instrument that changes the fair value of an embedded conversion option and
the
subsequent recognition of interest expense for the associated debt instrument
when the modification does not result in a debt extinguishment pursuant to
EITF
96-19 , “Debtor’s Accounting for a Modification or Exchange of Debt
Instruments”. The consensus should be applied to modifications or exchanges of
debt instruments occurring in interim or annual periods beginning after November
29, 2006. The adoption of EITF 06-6 did not have a material impact on the
Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In
November 2006, the FASB ratified EITF Issue No. 06-7, “Issuer’s Accounting for a
Previously Bifurcated Conversion Option in a Convertible Debt Instrument When
the Conversion Option No Longer Meets the Bifurcation Criteria in FASB Statement
No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” (“EITF
06-7”). At the time of issuance, an embedded conversion option in a convertible
debt instrument may be required to be bifurcated from the debt instrument and
accounted for separately by the issuer as a derivative under FAS 133, based
on
the application of EITF 00-19. Subsequent to the issuance of the convertible
debt, facts may change and cause the embedded conversion option to no longer
meet the conditions for separate accounting as a derivative instrument, such
as
when the bifurcated instrument meets the conditions of Issue 00-19 to be
classified in stockholders’ equity. Under EITF 06-7, when an embedded conversion
option previously accounted for as a derivative under FAS 133 no longer meets
the bifurcation criteria under that standard, an issuer shall disclose a
description of the principal changes causing the embedded conversion option
to
no longer require bifurcation under FAS 133 and the amount of the liability
for
the conversion option reclassified to stockholders’ equity. EITF 06-7 should be
applied to all previously bifurcated conversion options in convertible debt
instruments that no longer meet the bifurcation criteria in FAS 133 in interim
or annual periods beginning after December 15, 2006, regardless of whether
the
debt instrument was entered into prior or subsequent to the effective date
of
EITF 06-7. Earlier application of EITF 06-7 is permitted in periods for which
financial statements have not yet been issued. The adoption of EITF 06-7
did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position,
results of operations or cash flows.
In
December 2006, the FASB issued FSP EITF 00-19-2 “Accounting for
Registration Payment Arrangements” (“FSP EITF 00-19-2”) which specifies that the
contingent obligation to make futu
re
payments or otherwise transfer consideration under a registration payment
arrangement should be separately recognized and measured in accordance with
FASB
Statement No. 5, “Accounting for Contingencies.” Adoption of FSP EITF
00-19-2 is required for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006. The
Company adoption of FSP EITF 00-19-2 did not have a material impact on its
consolidated financial statements and is currently not yet in a position to
determine such effects.
In
February 2007, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 159 - The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial
Liabilities (“SFAS 159”), to permit all entities to choose to elect, at
specified election dates, to measure eligible financial instruments at fair
value. An entity shall report unrealized gains and losses on items for which
the
fair value option has been elected in earnings at each subsequent reporting
date, and recognize upfront costs and fees related to those items in earnings
as
incurred and not deferred. SFAS 159 applies to fiscal years beginning after
November 15, 2007, with early adoption permitted for an entity that has also
elected to apply the provisions of SFAS 157 - Fair Value Measurements. An
entity is prohibited from retrospectively applying SFAS 159, unless it chooses
early adoption. SFAS 159 also applies to eligible items existing at November
15,
2007 (or early adoption date). The Company does not expect the adoption of
SFAS 159 to have a material impact on its results of operations and financial
condition.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R (Revised 2007), “Business
Combinations” (“SFAS 141R”), which replaces SFAS No. 141, “Business
Combinations.” SFAS 141R establishes principles and requirements for determining
how an enterprise recognizes and measures the fair value of certain assets
and
liabilities acquired in a business combination, including noncontrolling
interests, contingent consideration and certain acquired contingencies. SFAS
141R also requires acquisition-related transaction expenses and restructuring
costs be expensed as incurred rather than capitalized as a component of the
business combination. SFAS 141R applies prospectively to business
combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of
the
first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. SFAS
141R
would have an impact on accounting for any businesses acquired after the
effective date of this pronouncement.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements-an amendment of ARB No. 51” (“SFAS 160”), to
improve the relevance, comparability and transparency of the information that
a
reporting entity provides in its consolidated financial statements by (1)
requiring the ownership interests in subsidiaries held by parties other than
the
parent to be clearly identified, labeled and presented in the consolidated
statement of financial position within equity, but separate from the parent’s
equity, (2) requiring that the amount of consolidated net income attributable
to
the parent and to the noncontrolling interest be clearly identified and
presented on the face of the consolidated statement of income, (3) requiring
that changes in a parent’s ownership interest while the parent retains its
controlling financial interest in its subsidiary be accounted for consistently,
(4) by requiring that when a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained
noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary be initially measured
at fair value and (5) requiring that entities provide sufficient disclosures
that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of the parent and
the interests of the noncontrolling owners. SFAS 160 is effective for fiscal
years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning on or after
December 15, 2008. Earlier adoption is prohibited. This SFAS is effective in
tandem with SFAS 141R. The Company is currently in the process of evaluation
the
impact of the adoption of SFAS 160 on its results of operations and financial
condition
.
In
March
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments
and Hedging Activities-an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133” (“SFAS 161”), to
require enhanced disclosures about an entity’s derivative and hedging activities
and thereby improves the transparency of financial reporting. SFAS 161 is
effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods
beginning after November 15, 2008, with early adoption encouraged. The Company
is currently in the process of evaluation the impact of the adoption of SFAS
161
on its results of operations and financial condition.
NOTE
23.
RELATED
PARTIES:
a.
Patent
licensing
The
Company originally entered into a license agreement in February 2003 with
Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman for the licensed usage of the intellectual
property rights relating to U.S. Patent No. 6,330,551 issued by the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office on December 11, 2001 for “Computerized Dispute and
Resolution System and Method” worldwide. In June 2005, subsequent to an interim
amendment in February 2004, the Company amended and restated the license
agreement in its entirety. In lieu of cash royalty fees, Messrs. Burchetta
and
Brofman have agreed to accept stock options for the Company’s common stock as
follows:
On
June
29, 2005, the Company granted to each of Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman a stock
option for up to such number of shares of common stock such that the stock
option, when added to the number of shares of common stock owned by each of
Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman, and in combination with any shares owned by
any
of their respective immediate family members and affiliates, will equal 14.6%
of
the total number of outstanding shares of common stock on a fully-diluted basis
as of the closing of a potential public offering of the Company’s common stock,
assuming the exercise of such stock option.
If,
and
upon, the Company reaching (in combination with any subsidiaries and other
sub-licensees) $10,000,000, $15,000,000, and $20,000,000 in gross revenues
derived from the licensed usage in any given fiscal year, the Company will
grant
each of Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman such additional number of stock options
as
will equal 1%, 1.5%, and 2%, respectively, of the total number of outstanding
shares of common stock on a fully-diluted basis at such time.
On
November 6, 2006, pursuant to this licensing agreement and the closing of the
IPO, the Company issued stock options to the Company’s co-chairmen to purchase
an aggregate of 1,517,434 shares of its common stock at $5.00 per share, with
a
term of ten years from grant date, and vesting upon issuance. The fair value
of
each option granted to the co-chairmen was estimated as of the grant date using
the Black-Scholes option pricing model and an expected life of ten years. Using
these assumptions, these options were valued at $6,828,453, and the full value
was expensed at issuance.
The
term
of the license agreement extends until the expiration of the last-to-expire
patents licensed thereunder and is not terminable by Messrs. Burchetta and
Brofman, the licensors. The license agreement also provides that the Company
will have the right to control the ability to enforce the patent rights licensed
to the Company against infringers and defend against any third-party
infringement actions brought with respect to the patent rights licensed to
the
Company, subject, in the case of pleadings and settlements, to the reasonable
consent of Messrs. Burchetta and Brofman.
b.
Legal
fees
In
2006,
the Company employed an attorney who is a relative of the Chairman and
Founder. During the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company
paid this individual consulting fees of approximately
$35,000.
During
the year ended 2007, an entity owned by one of our Directors performed
consulting services for the Company related to the acquisition of First
Performance Corporation in the amount of $18,122.
NOTE
24.
SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS:
a.
Warrant
Exercises
Subsequent
to December 31, 2007, the Company issued 4,167 shares of common stock in
connection with the exercise of warrants for cash proceeds of $42.
b.
New
Officers
On
February 16, 2008, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Mr.
Kenneth H. Montgomery to serve as its Chief Executive Officer. The agreement
has
a one year, automatically renewable term unless the Company provides 90 days
written notice of its intention not to renew prior to the anniversary date.
Mr.
Montgomery’s salary is $225,000 annually, with a bonus of up to 75% of salary
based on performance of objectives set by the Chairman and the Board of
Directors. Mr. Montgomery also received 50,000 shares of restricted stock and
350,000 options to purchase the common stock of the Company at an exercise
price
of $0.80, the closing price on his date of approval by the Board.
On
February 16, 2008, Mr. James D. Burchetta resigned from the Chief Executive
Officer role and was appointed to the position of executive Chairman and Founder
by the Board.
On
January 24, 2008, following the resignation of the Company’s President, Richard
Rosa, on December 31, 2007, the Board elected David M. Rainey to be President,
as well as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of the
Corporation.
c.
Additional
Financing
On
January 25, 2008, an unaffiliated investor through TRG loaned the Company
$100,000 at 12% interest per annum for a term of 18 months. In conjunction
with
the note, the investor received 50,000 warrants to purchase the common stock
of
the Company at an exercise price of $1.00.
On
February 8, 2008, the CEO of TRG loaned the Company $55,000 on a short term
basis. The interest rate is 12% per annum, and the loan is repayable on demand.
As of April 14, 2008, the remaining outstanding balance on the loan is
$10,000.
Between
February 21, 2008 and March 20, 2008, an officer of the Company loaned to the
Company a total of $80,000. The interest rate is 12% per annum, and the loan
is
repayable on demand.
On
February 26, 2008, an unaffiliated investor loaned the Company an additional
$100,000 at 12% interest per annum. Terms of the loan included a $20,000 service
fee on repayment or a $45,000 service fee if repayment occurs 31+ days after
origination and a maturity period of 18 months. In conjunction with the note,
the investor received 175,000 warrants to purchase the common stock of the
Company at an exercise price of $1.25.
On
March
7, 2008, the Company borrowed $100,000 from a bank at the prime rate for 30
days. On March 14, 2008, the original loan was repaid, and the Company borrowed
$150,000 at the prime rate and due in 30 days.
On
March
27, 2008, an unaffiliated investor loaned the Company $100,000 at 12% interest
per annum with a term of 18 months. In conjunction with the note, the investor
received 50,000 warrants to purchase the common stock of the Company at an
exercise price of $1.95.
On
April
10, 2008, an unaffiliated investor loaned the Company an additional $198,000
at
12% interest per annum with a term of 18 months. In conjunction with the note,
the investor received 99,000 warrants to purchase the common stock of the
Company at an exercise price of $2.45.
d.
American Stock Exchange deficiency letter
On
January 7, 2008, the Company received a deficiency letter from the American
Stock Exchange stating that we were not in compliance with specific provisions
of the American Stock Exchange continued listing standards The Company has
indicated that it is currently working to address this
deficiency.
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