June 25, 2025
Delviro’s Fall, and the Assets That Can’t Be Found
Assets gone. Emails lost. Money transfers to owner’s wife under scrutiny in Delviro Energy collapse.
For years, Delviro Energy pitched itself as the scrappy Canadian alternative — an LED manufacturer nimble enough to deliver fast-turn made-to-order fixtures, yet big enough to play in the North American commercial lighting arena. Now, as its equipment goes under the hammer in a court-supervised auction, what’s left of Delviro is being picked over by stakeholders with questions that go far beyond surplus inventory.
On Thursday June 26, bidders will log in for an auction of Delviro’s manufacturing equipment. On the block: laser cutters, SMT lines, compressors, forklifts. But also on the docket — albeit in a courtroom, not a warehouse — is a request from Ernst & Young to obtain investigative powers typically reserved for bankruptcy trustees.
Delviro’s manufacturing floor goes to market: CNC lasers, SMT lines, forklifts and a stockpile of lighting inventory headline the court-ordered auction set for June 26. Image credit: Maynards
The Court Filings Paint a Murky Picture
The story laid out in recent court documents is not one of simple corporate misfortune. Since being appointed in April, the court officer — Ernst & Young Inc. — has repeatedly encountered resistance. Financial records have been hard to access. Emails and accounting systems were either wiped, corrupted, or fragmented. And an alarming portion of Delviro’s listed equipment inventory is nowhere to be found.
Initially, there was some cooperation from former finance manager Jessica Diprofio. But according to the filings, that too ceased shortly after Ernst & Young began asking deeper questions. Responses from Joe Delonghi, Delviro’s founder and sole director, have been described as incomplete, inconsistent, or unsupported by documentation.
Transfers, Affiliates and Unanswered Questions
Much of Ernst & Young’s scrutiny now centers on transactions made in the weeks before and after the court’s appointment. Specifically, transfers involving entities tied to Delonghi — including Lighting Fund Investments Inc., M&G Hotels Limited, and others. There are also direct payments and asset shifts that appear to have benefited Mr. Delonghi and his wife personally.
These could turn out to be legitimate. But they could also fall into the murkier territory of “transactions at undervalue” — the kind that courts and creditors tend to take a particular interest in. At this stage, Ernst & Young is not drawing conclusions. It is, however, asking the court for tools to investigate further, including the authority to examine both Delonghi and Diprofio under oath.
By the time Ernst & Young took control in April, Delviro had already defaulted on over $5 million in obligations to National Bank of Canada. Now, as part of the upcoming hearing, Ernst & Young is seeking permission to distribute up to $600,000 from auction proceeds to the bank as an interim recovery.
It’s a small fraction of what’s owed. But it may be all that’s left.
A Legacy of Gaps — In Records and Oversight
Delviro sold visibility: commercial fixtures designed to light up warehouses, factories, and office towers. But as its receivership unfolds, it’s the lack of visibility that stands out most. Equipment that can’t be located. Records that won’t open. Transactions that don’t add up.
Ernst & Young stops short of alleging misconduct. Still, the filings describe a company whose final months were marked by missing data, unclear transfers, and increasingly limited cooperation. Ernst & Young is now asking for investigative powers to probe further — to put questions to former insiders under oath and, if needed, assign the company into bankruptcy.
Whether those efforts will yield clarity or just more ambiguity remains to be seen. What’s clear already is that Delviro’s “pause” was never a pause. It was the beginning of an unwinding. And now, with its inventory headed to auction, the only light left is whatever the court allows the receiver to shine.
