EchoStar Corp. allegedly engaged in $1.5 billion of "unusual transactions" with its bankrupt subsidiary Hughes Satellite Systems Corp., according to the US Trustee, who urged the court to appoint an examiner to investigate the deals. The request follows a similar push by disgruntled bondholders and threatens to complicate Hughes' effort to cut debt and restructure under court protection. The bondholders allege that EchoStar stripped Hughes of more than $1.5 billion in assets over the past two years through "a series of self-dealing transactions."