TravelMax Sues Former Officers

SANTA ANA — TravelMax International Inc. has sued former officers and certain shareholders for more than $13 million, alleging that they misappropriated company funds and defrauded shareholders.

The suit alleges that the former president, William Montgomery Alverson, and the former chief financial officer, Dale Paisley, conspired with other investors and associates to steer funds from TravelMax to other companies.

The suit was filed in Orange County Superior Court on Friday by a new management team that includes C. Dean Hofmeister as chairman. He also is chairman of New SeaEscape Cruises, a Fort Lauderdale cruise line.

New SeaEscape is owned by Florida businessmen Glenn Galland and Doug Baetz, both of whom recently became majority owners of TravelMax.

The suit alleges that Alverson, Paisley and their associates also failed to repay debts of the Newport Beach travel company.

TravelMax closed its doors temporarily this past spring when a cash crunch forced it to lay off employees and shut down its telephone reservation system. The company reopened after existing shareholders, including Galland and Baetz, pumped new capital into the struggling business.

“These were investors who have acted, if you will, as white knights for TravelMax,” said Mitchell Freedman, the company’s general counsel.

TravelMax and its subsidiaries develop, market and distribute travel-related products and services.

The company’s 1,000 independent travel representatives met last week in Fort Lauderdale to hear the new management team’s plans for the company’s future, Freedman said. He called the session “a tremendous success.”