National Gold Exchange Inc. filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on July 24, two days after Sovereign Bank seized its multimillion-dollar gold coin collection as collateral on $35 million in loans.

The coin company, located at 14309 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, estimates its assets at $10 million to $50 million, and its liabilities at $50 million and $100 million, court records state.

A Hillsborough circuit court judge allowed Sovereign Bank to seize the coins amid allegations that Mark Yaffe, owner of the coin business, had fraudulently overstated the collection’s value to the bank, records state.

Sovereign Bank contends in court records it discovered discrepancies in National Gold Exchange’s financial books after Lutz attorney David E. Hammer wrote a June 30 letter to the bank alleging Yaffe sold about $15 million of its inventory to complete construction of his $25 million Avila mansion.

The nearly 30,000-square-foot house on 5.9 acres fronting a golf course is listed for sale with Smith & Associates, records state.

Sovereign Bank’s Elizabeth Sousa, senior vice president and commercial market manager for the precious metals and specialty lending division, stated in an affidavit that bank executives were initially skeptical of the accusations since Hammer is in active litigation with National Gold Exchange.

But the bank was concerned about the company’s financial viability for other reasons: its credit line was maxed out; it issued checks that bounced; and the company lost $881,000 on trading in gold futures, Sousa said in the affidavit.

On July 10, Sovereign Bank sent a team unannounced to Tampa to complete a physical inventory of National Gold Exchange’s coins. It later requested a writ of replevin or authority to seize the coins after finding evidence the collection might not be worth $33.6 million as Yaffe stated.

Calls to Sovereign Bank’s attorney Rob Soriano and National Gold Exchange’s attorney Richard McIntyre weren’t immediately returned







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