IN THE CHANCERY COURT OF PERRY COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

IN RE THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN RAY

"FUZZY" WEATHERFORD, DECEASED NO.: 22-PR-00021-SM

*********************************************************

TRANSCRIPT OF THE PROCEEDINGS HAD AND DONE IN THE

ABOVE-STYLED AND NUMBERED CAUSE BEFORE HONORABLE
SHEILA H. SMALLWOOD, CHANCELLOR, HELD IN FORREST COUNTY,
MISSISSIPPI, ON THE 26TH DAY OF JUNE 2025.

*********************************************************

J. Stacy Head, CSR #1201

Official Court Reporter
10th Chancery Court District
98 Woodstone Drive
Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39402
(601) 264-7558/520-2999
 2

1 PROCEEDINGS OF JUNE 26, 2025

2 THE COURT: All right. We're here this morning

3 in the matter of the Estate of Stephen Weatherford.

4 We're here based on the Court's sua sponte emergency

5 order for you to appear today. You were served with

6 a copy of this order.

7 MS. VOYTEK: Correct. Yes, ma'am.

8 THE COURT: And you're here today; is that

9 right?

10 MS. VOYTEK: Yes, ma'am.

11 THE COURT: Okay. So if you'll raise your

12 right hand for me.

13 REBECCA VOYTEK,

14 AFTER HAVING BEEN CALLED AS A WITNESS AND AFTER HAVING

15 BEEN FIRST DULY SWORN, TESTIFIED UNDER OATH AS FOLLOWS:

16 EXAMINATION BY THE COURT:

17 Q. All right. And can you say your last name for

18 me?

19 A. Voytek.

20 Q. Voytek. So I did say it right.

21 A. Yes, ma'am.

22 Q. Okay. Good. And can you tell me who you're

23 employed with?

24 A. Ferraez Law, formerly Ferraez & Associates.

25 Cory Ferraez, Attorney.

 3

1 Q. Okay. And you're still working there; is that

2 right?

3 A. Yes. That's correct.

4 Q. So back on June the 16th I issued a show cause

5 order -- well, I issued a show cause order for

6 Mr. Ferraez to appear on the 16th. He did not appear?

7 A. Correct. Yes.

8 Q. Do you know where he is?

9 A. I do not.

10 Q. Okay. I also entered an order of incarceration

11 that he's not complied with. He is absent. We have law

12 enforcement looking for him. You don't have any contact

13 with him or know where he is?

14 A. I don't know where he is. The only contact

15 I've had with him was last evening he contacted me and

16 asked me to file a motion on MEC on his behalf.

17 Q. Okay. What was the nature of that motion?

18 A. I have a copy. It's a motion to vacate the

19 incarceration order.

20 Q. Okay. All right. Do you have a copy of that

21 with you today?

22 A. I do.

23 Q. Is he intending to present the order?

24 A. Not today, no. I have the documents that were

25 attached to that and the ones that you requested. He

 4

1 offered medical records for in camera inspection. I have

2 those. He also indicates in the order that funds will be

3 deposited in the registry within the 24 hours of the

4 filing of that motion.

5 Q. Okay.

6 A. And these are the original documents she asked

7 me for.

8 Q. Okay. As you know this case took a turn when

9 Mr. Ferraez could not provide proof that $450,000 was in

10 his trust account. Those funds were to be deposited.

11 They were wrongful death proceeds for Ms. Sylvia

12 Weatherford. Do you know anything about whether or not

13 those checks were deposited into his trust account?

14 A. I do not. I don't have access, and I don't

15 handle any of the financial portions of the business.

16 I'm strictly a paralegal, and when we have other

17 employees, I supervise other employees.

18 Q. Okay. So you do not have any access or

19 knowledge of his financial records --

20 A. I do not.

21 Q. -- of his law office?

22 A. I do not. I don't have visibility or access,

23 other than what I've provided there, which were records

24 that were in the file within the law firm. I have access

25 to that, so that's what I brought. Also I have a thumb

 5

1 drive; I didn't know if y'all might prefer.

2 Q. What is on the thumb drive?

3 A. The same thing that's in there for you on

4 paper.

5 Q. Okay. You've presented me with a letter that

6 seems to indicate two checks; one in the amount of

7 $200,000; one in the amount of $250,000. It also lists

8 some partial disbursements to Ms. Weatherford. Were

9 those Court approved?

10 A. I don't know.

11 Q. Okay. I had Ms. Weatherford appear at the show

12 cause hearing, and she described an inability to get in

13 touch with Mr. Ferraez on numerous occasions, including

14 that her access to her attorney had been blocked. What

15 do you know about that?

16 A. I think what she's referring to is that I had

17 given her my personal cell phone number, and due -- and

18 last fall I went to Houston, Texas, for two weeks to have

19 left ankle fusion surgery. I had told her before I left

20 that I was not going to be available, and she can -- and

21 when I was not going to be in the office and then asked

22 her to contact the firm directly. She continued to

23 contact me. Given the situation that I was in, I blocked

24 her out of my cell phone, my private cell phone.

25 Q. Okay. But you don't -- you're denying that you

 6

1 refused to meet with her at the office or Cory refused to

2 meet with her at the office about these funds?

3 A. I have rescheduled appointments for him. I

4 don't know anything about him refusing to meet with her.

5 No, ma'am, I don't.

6 Q. Okay. Let me see if there's any other

7 questions I have for you. You don't have any information

8 about trust account, where this money went?

9 A. I don't. I've never seen a statement on any --

10 on the trust account, nothing.

11 Q. Okay. Do you have any knowledge of why this

12 estate has been pending for three years?

13 A. Well, I think he outlines part of that in the

14 motion, which he didn't -- I'm not trying to explain

15 that. I don't want to -- you know, but my only

16 understanding is that a settlement was obtained. There

17 were some issues in the beginning with how some summons

18 were issued for the petition to close the estate and

19 approve the funds. That stretched it out a few months.

20 Subsequently all I know is I was told that we were going

21 to dispute liens, the pre-settlement loans, the amount

22 that's owed on those, and other than that, I don't know.

23 Q. So these pre-settlement loans, did you know if

24 you got Court approval to put liens on settlement amounts

25 in the estate?
 7

1 A. I honestly don't know how that works or

2 anything about that other than clients borrow money

3 before a settlement is reached, and then once a

4 settlement is reached, there are loans that are sitting

5 out there that the client has agreed to satisfy with the

6 interest rates in an agreement. That's the only thing I

7 understand about those type of liens.

8 Q. Part of Ms. Weatherford's testimony was that

9 she asked you specifically if she had been scammed by

10 Attorney Ferraez, and you shook your head affirmatively;

11 is that accurate?

12 A. That's not accurate, no.

13 Q. All right.

14 A. If she's referring to a meeting where she was

15 in my office and she was very agitated and saying a whole

16 lot of things that she was speculating, did I sit there

17 quietly and nod my head like this? Yes, I did, but I in

18 no way affirmed that he was scamming her.

19 Q. Okay. That would be opposite of what she

20 indicated to this Court.

21 A. That's not correct.

22 Q. All right. Okay. You also provided me with

23 copies of these checks, which I have. You said -- you

24 provided medical records for me to review in camera?

25 A. Yes.
 8

1 Q. There were several -- I think seven different

2 court appearances I scheduled for him since November of

3 last year, all of which he had medical issues. Do you

4 have any personal knowledge of whether those excuses were

5 valid?

6 A. I don't, other than the records that I brought

7 you today. I don't have any knowledge of those.

8 THE COURT: Okay. All right. That's all the

9 questions I have for you. I do appreciate you

10 appearing today on short notice.

11 THE WITNESS: Sure.

12 THE COURT: And you're free to go.

13 THE WITNESS: Okay. Thank you.

14 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.

15 That'll conclude today's hearing in the Ferraez

16 matter.

17

18 (CONCLUSION)

19

20

21

22

23

24

25
 9

1 STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

2 COUNTY OF LAMAR

3
C E R T I F I C A T E
4

5 I, J. Stacy Head, Official Court Reporter for

6 the 10th Chancery Court District of the State of

7 Mississippi, do hereby certify that the foregoing pages

8 contain a full, true and accurate transcription of my

9 stenographic notes taken IN RE THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN RAY

10 "FUZZY" WEATHERFORD, Cause Number 22-PR-21-SM, in the

11 Chancery Court of Perry County, Mississippi, on the 26th

12 day of June 2025, before Honorable Sheila H. Smallwood,

13 Chancellor.

14 WITNESS MY SIGNATURE on this the 7th day of

15 July, A.D., 2025.

16

17

18
_____________________________________
19 J. STACY HEAD
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
20 10TH CHANCERY COURT DISTRICT
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
21 CSR #1201

22

23

24

25