(Bloomberg) -- An Ontario court placed Traynor Ridge Capital Inc. into receivership as regulators outlined the chaotic series of events that unfolded after the unexpected death of the hedge fund’s founder, Chris Callahan.

Ernst & Young has been named as the receiver and manager of all of Traynor’s assets, according to the Ontario Securities Commission. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto heard the OSC’s request to appoint a receiver on an urgent basis. 

The OSC is investigating after series of trades last month left three brokerage firms with almost C$100 million in potential losses, including Virtu Financial Inc., which filed a suit to recover its losses. Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. also has been caught having made trades for Traynor it couldn’t settle, Bloomberg has reported.

Friday’s court filings describe a three-man operation with C$95 million ($70 million) in assets just a month ago that has no one left in charge, making it impossible to even update the fund’s website, according to a law firm. The filings also outline that Traynor has investment vehicles based in the Cayman Islands, where two independent directors say they too don’t have current knowledge of the funds’ assets.

“There is no question that it is in the best interests of the Traynor stakeholders to appoint a receiver. Simply put, there is no one in charge of the company right now,” Justice Barbara Conway said in the order.

Lawyers from Bay Street law firm McMillan LLP, which according to court documents has acted for Traynor since its inception, told the OSC on Oct. 28 that Callahan was dead. By Oct. 30, the regulator had issued a temporary cease-trade order. 

That same day, the regulator had a call with William Chyz, Callahan’s right-hand man, who appeared to be overcome with emotion over his colleague’s death, according to the court filings. 

Chyz, who appears to have connected Traynor with its biggest source of investors — Westcourt Capital, a Toronto-based advisory firm — told the regulator his job at the firm was limited to sales and marketing. Chyz said that in his role with Traynor “he had not executed a single trade,” according to the filings, stating he had “no idea” how that side of the business works.

Meanwhile, the lawyers from McMillan told the OSC they were unable to post a copy of the temporary cease-trade order on Traynor’s website, as required by terms of the order, as the site-requires two-factor identification to update and Callahan’s mobile device is “currently held by the coroner or a related entity.”  

McMillan, which did not reply to requests for comment, tracked down a business continuity plan, which names Callahan as Traynor’s sole “key personnel.” The plan states that Chyz and Callahan’s brother, Jeff Callahan, are authorized to carry on or wind down the business in the event of the founder’s death. 

But the document gives only Jeff Callahan power of attorney to act on behalf of Traynor in interactions with third parties. He has never been registered with the OSC in any capacity, which is required to conduct trading activities. Jeff Callahan couldn’t be reached for comment. 

Cayman Connection 

The documents also show that Traynor had established two funds in the Cayman Islands. Traynor’s Ontario-based funds purchased redeemable shares in one of the Cayman funds, which in turn invests “substantially all of the funds” in another Cayman fund, called the Master Fund.

Callahan, alongside two residents in the Cayman Islands, was on the board of directors for those funds. 

In a meeting with the OSC on Thursday, the Cayman directors said it was Callahan who made all trading decisions with respect to those funds. They also said that while they knew that as of Sept. 30, Traynor had about C$95 million in assets, they are still trying to figure out how much it has now.  

In addition, the documents reveal that market maker Virtu Financial Inc. is seeking an additional court order to preserve what money might be left after Traynor’s apparent unraveling. 

Earlier this week, Virtu filed a separate court application against the hedge fund disclosing losses of more than C$5 million. 

The OSC filings show that Virtu’s Canadian arm also plans to make a motion to the court for the “preservation” of C$15.6 million held in Traynor’s prime brokerage accounts with CIBC World Markets Inc. and TD Securities Inc., plus an additional $5.8 million held in US dollar prime brokerage accounts with the same banks.

TD declined to comment, alongside Bank of Montreal, which is also named as a prime broker in documents tied to the case. CIBC, which previously declined to comment, didn’t respond to a request for comment on Friday. EY pointed to publicly available information on its website and declined to comment further.

Virtu said that Traynor breached its contractual duties in failing to settle the trades executed by the firm. The market maker executed 26 buy orders for the fund that hadn’t been settled as of Oct. 23, other court documents say.

Read More: Hedge Fund Executive’s Sudden Death Exposes Firm in Deep Trouble

(Updates throughout.)

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.