Holt Cat Sues Over Alleged Fraud Scheme
An insurance company has filed a lawsuit against the estate of a former Holt Cat manager and his ex-wife, alleging they were involved in a years-long scheme to defraud the company.
Cat equipment lined up outside Holt’s San Antonio headquarters. JERRY LARA / San Antonio Express-News
Berkley Insurance Co. is attempting to recover losses stemming from the alleged theft, which involved the payment of millions of dollars for work tools, supplies, and freight services that San Antonio-based Holt Cat never actually received. The insurer had previously paid out nearly $2.6 million to B.D. Holt Co. under a policy covering criminal acts.
The lawsuit names John Grosse, a former Holt Cat work tools manager, and his ex-wife, Jacqueline Black, as the individuals responsible for the scheme, along with Mercury Manufacturing LLC, a company they operated. Grosse died on September 13 at the age of 43.
Black has not commented on the allegations, and Mercury Manufacturing appears to be out of business.
According to the lawsuit, Grosse began working at Holt in 2003 and rose to the position of work tools manager in 2014. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing and overseeing all work tools within the organization. His team was tasked with sourcing and purchasing attachments, such as hammers, buckets, and blades, for Caterpillar machines.
Mercury began acting as a Holt vendor in 2015. During part of that time, Black, then known as Jacqueline Grosse, owned the company from November 2014 to July 2018, the suit alleges. Although no previous mention of their marriage was made.
According to the lawsuit, Grosse “failed to disclose his relationship with Mercury to Holt, and Holt was not aware of Grosse’s relationship with Mercury until April 27, 2023”. Grosse was terminated from Holt in 2023.
After discovering the alleged scheme, Holt notified Berkley, which determined the loss was covered by its insurance policy. Holt then submitted proof of the loss on February 1, 2024. Berkley subsequently paid Holt nearly $2.6 million.
On October 22, Holt assigned all rights and potential claims against Grosse, Black, and Mercury Manufacturing to Berkley.
Earlier this month, Berkley demanded that Black and Mercury return the $2.7 million, but those demands have been ignored. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
It’s unclear if Berkley will be able to recover much, as Mercury forfeited its right to conduct business in Texas in August, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website. Discover Bank also previously failed in an attempt to collect more than $14,000 from Black in delinquent credit card charges, with a court filing stating there were “no funds to distribute.”
Berkley filed the suit in state District Court in San Antonio. Michael Keeley, a Dallas lawyer representing Berkley, did not respond to a request for comment.
