In March 2014, a local businessman was ordered to spend 30 months in prison and pay more than $2 million in restitution after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud in Virginia. Michael Wayne Harding declared bankruptcy in 2011. According to court documents, his company, HMC Holdings, acquired fraudulent mortgages and manufactured false invoices and other supporting...Read More
Lottery winners go bankrupt at twice the national average, according to a recent study in Florida. While that may sound like sour grapes, there is plenty of anecdotal and statistical evidence to suggest that winning the lottery is not a life-changing event, at least in the long term. Jack Whittaker won $315 million in a...Read More
Some people hesitate to file a needed bankruptcy because they are afraid of the implications for their job and career. While this trepidation is understandable, it may be unfounded. The law Discrimination based on a bankruptcy filing is illegal under federal law. An employer cannot make entry level (hiring) and exit level (firing) decisions based...Read More
In the Internet era, when bankruptcy forms are available online for free or for very little, many people question the wisdom of hiring a professional for what seems to be a do-it-yourself project. Others may look to a bankruptcy petition preparer to save money. But there are some very compelling reasons for hiring an experienced...Read More
A Home Equity Line of Credit is a secured loan that acts like an unsecured credit card. Many people took out these “second mortgages” on their homes as a way to convert the home equity into cash while staying in the residence. What happens to your HELOC mainly depends on the Chapter you file. HELOC...Read More
Even if you made all the payments on time, a lender may be able to call the note (demand payment in full) or even declare a student loan to be in default, thanks to an obscure clause in most loan paperwork. The “auto-default” clause applies if the private student loan had a co-signer, which is...Read More
Claiming that they are owed more than $60 million, some of its creditors have forced a long-term acute-care hospital into bankruptcy. Specialty Hospital’s debt consists of corporate debt, unpaid taxes, unpaid utility bills and a pending Medicaid fraud claim. The hospitals landlord, Capitol Hill Group, along with CroppMetcalfe and JFW Services, filed the action in...Read More
What was exempt before you inherited it may not be after, according to a recent Supreme Court case. Clark et ux v. Rameker et al centered around the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy of Heidi Hefron-Clark and her husband, Brandon. In 2001, the Clarks inherited a $450,000 IRA from her mother. When the couple later filed bankruptcy...Read More
General Motors is trying to use its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as a shield against liability lawsuits stemming from faulty ignition switches. The automaker claims that it emerged from bankruptcy as “the new GM” and as a different corporate entity. According to a court filing in New York, the new GM’s recall of the ignition switches...Read More
A former billionaire is now being sued by creditors and may be facing bankruptcy. Industrialist Xiaofeng Peng was one of the richest men in China as recently as 2008. His company, LDK Solar, took on massive debt to begin producing polysilicon. But construction took longer than expected and costs were higher than anticipated. By the...Read More
