Former Politician and Convenience Store Mogul Files Bankruptcy

Controversial convenience store magnate Christy Mihos' bankruptcy filing is the latest fallout from his financial and domestic tailspin in the past several years. First Mihos' adhamently denied assaulting his wife, now he is facing accusations from more than a dozen creditors who say Mihos' owes them money.

 

The former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority vice chairman and gubernatorial candidate  filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy for Hyannis-based Christy's of Cape Cod LLC on Jan. 31 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston, according to court documents. He cited between $1 million and $10 million in debt owed to more than a dozen creditors.

 

Mihos sold off 11 of his 13 convenience stores on the Cape to Hess Corp. in 2009. He closed the other two stations a year later.

 

The former  was hit by a slew of lawsuits and claims of financial malfeasance during his latest bid for the state's highest office in 2010. After losing in the primary, Mihos, 63, continued to fail to meet his financial obligations, according to lawsuits by private creditors and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

 

A year ago, Mihos' private life began to unravel. In February 2012, he was accused of assaulting his wife in Florida as well as in July 2011 at the couple's West Yarmouth home.

 

During the investigation, Mihos' wife, Andrea, told police she was concerned about her husband's mental health and claimed he had hired strippers, prostitutes and porn stars for sex.

 

After the allegations, Mihos released a statement admitting to mistakes in judgment and said cancer surgery and a serious fall in December 2009 had changed him.

 

Mihos' bankruptcy lawyer, Jeffery Johnson of Centerville, declined to comment through a representative reached at his office, but Mihos' creditors are set to meet with the bankruptcy trustee later this month.

 

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Posted in business bankruptcy , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , christy mihos , US Bankruptcy Court

How Does Chapter 7 Work?

Now we are getting to the "meat and potatoes" of the topic... How does Chapter 7 work? According to the US Courts website, here is the first step... A chapter 7 case begins with the debtor filing a petition with the bankruptcy court serving the area where the individual lives or where the business debtor is organized or has its principal place of business or principal assets. (3) In addition to the petition, the debtor must also file with the court: (1) schedules of assets and liabilities; (2) a schedule of current income and expenditures; (3) a statement of financial affairs; and (4) a schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1007(b). Debtors must also provide the assigned case trustee with a copy of the tax return or transcripts for the most recent tax year as well as tax returns filed during the case (including tax returns for prior years that had not been filed when the case began). 11 U.S.C. § 521. Individual debtors with primarily consumer debts have additional document filing requirements. They must file: a certificate of credit counseling and a copy of any debt repayment plan developed through credit counseling; evidence of payment from employers, if any, received 60 days before filing; a statement of monthly net income and any anticipated increase in income or expenses after filing; and a record of any interest the debtor has in federal or state qualified education or tuition accounts. Id. A husband and wife may file a joint petition or individual petitions. 11 U.S.C. § 302(a). Even if filing jointly, a husband and wife are subject to all the document filing requirements of individual debtors. (The Official Forms may be purchased at legal stationery stores or downloaded from the internet at www.uscourts.gov/bkforms/index.html. They are not available from the court.) If this seems intense - there is good news, if you hire a licensed bankrupcty attorney, such as Foster Law Offices - they will take care of the filing for you. The first step would be to schedule a free consultation where Attorney Foster of Attorney Cook will meet with you to learn more about your unique financial situation and to determine the appropriate action plan to get you the debt relief you seek. The next step is ensuring all fees are paid and on time... Again if you hire a firm to assist you with filing, they will explain this part of the process to you in detail. Moving along -- According to the US Courts website, there are quite a few additional steps neccesary to complete the official bankruptcy forms,statement of financial affairs, and schedules, the debtor must provide the following information: A list of all creditors and the amount and nature of their claims; The source, amount, and frequency of the debtor's income; A list of all of the debtor's property; and A detailed list of the debtor's monthly living expenses, i.e., food, clothing, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, medicine, etc. Married individuals must gather this information for their spouse regardless of whether they are filing a joint petition, separate individual petitions, or even if only one spouse is filing. In a situation where only one spouse files, the income and expenses of the non-filing spouse are required so that the court, the trustee and creditors can evaluate the household's financial position. Among the schedules that an individual debtor will file is a schedule of "exempt" property. The Bankruptcy Code allows an individual debtor (4) to protect some property from the claims of creditors because it is exempt under federal bankruptcy law or under the laws of the debtor's home state. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b). Many states have taken advantage of a provision in the Bankruptcy Code that permits each state to adopt its own exemption law in place of the federal exemptions. In other jurisdictions, the individual debtor has the option of choosing between a federal package of exemptions or the exemptions available under state law. Thus, whether certain property is exempt and may be kept by the debtor is often a question of state law. The debtor should consult an attorney to determine the exemptions available in the state where the debtor lives. This is the point, where I take a deep breath and am glad I work in our marketing department -- the attorneys and paralegals prepare quite a bit of paperwork to assist each of their clients with seeking protection under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Fastforward -- The US Courts site reports, Between 21 and 40 days after the petition is filed, the case trustee will hold a meeting of creditors. During this meeting, the trustee puts the debtor under oath, and both the trustee and creditors may ask questions. The debtor must attend the meeting and answer questions regarding the debtor's financial affairs and property. Within 10 days of the creditors' meeting, the U.S. trustee will report to the court whether the case should be presumed to be an abuse under the means test described in 11 U.S.C. § 704(b). It is important for the debtor to cooperate with the trustee and to provide any financial records or documents that the trustee requests. The Bankruptcy Code requires the trustee to ask the debtor questions at the meeting of creditors to ensure that the debtor is aware of the potential consequences of seeking a discharge in bankruptcy such as the effect on credit history, the ability to file a petition under a different chapter, the effect of receiving a discharge, and the effect of reaffirming a debt. Some trustees provide written information on these topics at or before the meeting to ensure that the debtor is aware of this information. In order to preserve their independent judgment, bankruptcy judges are prohibited from attending the meeting of creditors. 11 U.S.C. § 341(c). Whew this was a long topic... time to move along to some lighter entries and focus on some bankruptcy myths, after all - they don't call Attorney Foster "mr debtbuster" for nothing...

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Posted in bankruptcy court , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , The Federal Bankruptcy Code

What is Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

It's June! Only 19 more days until it is officially summer AND we are kicking off our "Learn about Bankruptcy Month"... we are excited to provide you with some educational information, hopefully you are excited to learn a bit more about bankruptcy. Today's Topic - What is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? While the answer may vary depending on who you ask... we are going to take the safe road and give you the explanation provided to consumers on the website by the United States Court System, a site that is designed to provide you with information about the judicial branch of the US Government, click here to check it out. - A chapter 7 bankruptcy case does not involve the filing of a plan of repayment as in chapter 13. - Instead, the bankruptcy trustee gathers and sells the debtor's nonexempt assets ( You can call a licensed bankruptcy attorney such as Foster Law Offices to assist you with determining which of your assets would be classified as non exempt)and uses the proceeds of such assets to pay creditors in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code. - In addition, the Bankruptcy Code will allow the debtor to keep certain "exempt" property; but a trustee will liquidate the debtor's remaining assets. This is the most basic definition of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, if you are looking for additional information you can visit our Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Page or click here to learn the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection.

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Posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy , Chapter 13 bankruptcy , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , Foster Law Offices

Blair Witch Producer Files Bankruptcy

Kevin J. Foxe, producer of The Blair Witch Project filed bankruptcy last month, stating he only has $900 to his name. This filing came as a shocker to many as The Blair Witch Project went on to make $248 million dollars and only cost $25,000 to produce. What went wrong?? That is a question you would have to ask Foxe himself, and when TMZ contacted Foxe for comment, he declined. What we do know is Foxe filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in a California court citing a laundry list of creditors which add up to more than $130,000 with the IRS being the largest debt - as Foxe owes more than $62,000 in unpaid taxes. Blair Witch and Octomom - back to back, quite a spring for celebrity bankruptcy...

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Posted in Blair witch project bankruptcy , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , foxe bankruptcy , kevin foxe bankruptcy

Octomom Files Bankruptcy

Octomom files bankruptcy! So, some of you may have seen this one coming... but what most of you didn't see coming was the amount of debt she racked up... how much, you ask?

Nadya Suleman also known as the "Octomom" has filed for bankruptcy, stating $962,000 in debt!

Thats right - almost a million bucks!


In an interview with the Orange County Register - the Octomom said "I have had to make some very difficult decisions this year, and filing Chapter 7 was one of them."

Suleman hopes that bankruptcy will give her family a much needed fresh start - currently she owed more than 20 times her net worth!


Suleman is filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means a court-appointed trustee would liquidate her assets to pay off creditors before she is discharged from most of her debts.

Who does Suleman owe money to ? The list includes her father, the water department, a private school and DirecTV..... aSuleman also owes more than $30,000 in rent payments on her four-bedroom house.
While her debt continues to accrue, the single mother of 14 supports her children with the aid of food stamps and Social Security disability payments, she is unemployed.

Suleman's children were conceived through in vitro fertility treatments and her octuplets are the world's longest-surviving set.

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Posted in Celebrity Bankruptcy , chapter 7 , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , octomom bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Filings Down 9 1/2 Percent in Wisconsin

Oct. 21 (Source: By Paul Gores, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) - The pace of bankruptcy filings in Wisconsin has slowed this year — a welcome trend, but one that attorneys who deal with insolvent consumers and business people said won’t improve significantly until joblessness wanes.

Through the first nine months of 2011, federal bankruptcy filings were down 9.5% from the same time last year, to 21,167, U.S. Bankruptcy Court records show.

Most of those filings were for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the type that wipes out debt such as credit card balances, utility bills and medical bills.

The state figures track closely with consumer bankruptcy filings nationally. Through the first three quarters in the United States, consumer filings decreased about 10%, to a little more than 1 million, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported.

Economist Jay Mueller said it makes sense that bankruptcies would start to decrease now because they lag the worst stress in the general economy, which occurred a couple of years ago.
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“I don’t think there is a lot to read into it other than to say there is a lag effect between a bad economy and bankruptcy filings,” Mueller, a portfolio manager for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds in Menomonee Falls, said of this year’s decrease.

Milwaukee bankruptcy attorney Robert Waud said he’s still seeing many people who have run their own business finally choose to throw in the towel. They often file for personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
“I’m busy. I’m seeing the same types of problems — the small-business person who doesn’t have any customers, and just a lot of people who are out of work,” said Waud, of Todd C. Esser & Associates.
Among recent bankruptcy filers at his office: cabinet makers for high-end homes and a repairer of hydraulics.

“Basically, what he did all his life was repair hydraulics on off-road machines for construction companies, and they just are not coming in the door,” Waud said.

Madison bankruptcy attorney Claire Ann Resop, of von Briesen & Roper, said she is seeing a lot of people who own small businesses that cater to minor luxuries instead of necessities, such as boutique clothing, furniture and flowers.

“I think the volume of business just doesn’t exist anymore,” she said.

Resop said the stigma of declaring bankruptcy seems to have lessened because in such a slow economy, so many have done it.

“I think the most stark change is businesspeople — higher-income people who were builders, developers, had their own business,” Resop said. “Because a lot of their acquaintances in the business, all of their professional friends, have also had to do it. They’re all in the same place. So I think they kind of look at each other and go, ‘Yeah, it’s the economy. It’s tough.’

Said Waud: “We’ve got to get people back to work before we can solve some of these problems.”

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Posted in bankruptcy attorney , bankruptcy filings , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , US Bankruptcy Court , wisconsin bankruptcy

Wisconsin Man Will Serve Prison Sentence for Lying During Bankruptcy

The moral of the story is, tell the truth. One Wisconsin man was not only deep in debt, but in deep trouble due to his lies. According to the FBI,  Edward W. Fedosky, 56, Madison, Wis., was  sentenced Friday, May 27, by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to six months in prison for lying under oath at a bankruptcy hearing.
Fedosky pleaded guilty to this charge on March 15, 2011. On October 3, 2006, Fedosky filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, seeking to discharge just under $19,000 owed to various creditors.

Throughout the next 17 months, Fedosky repeatedly failed to provide requested documents to
the bankruptcy court and failed to appear at a number of scheduled hearings. Finally, on  March 24, 2009, Fedosky appeared at a scheduled meetng and falsely testified under oath about the tax return that he provided to the bankruptcy trustee.

After the bankruptcy trustee found out Fedosky had lied, Fedosky’s bankruptcy case was closed in November 2008, without an order discharging debts and no monetary loss to the government.

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Posted in Bankruptcy petition , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Hawaii Bankruptcy Filings Flat in May

According to an article in Honolulu's Star Advertisor... "Statewide bankruptcy filings were virtually flat in May, but there was a spike in Chapter 13, or so-called wage-earner, cases.

Total filings slipped 0.6 percent to 334 from 336 in the year-earlier period and marked the fourth time in five months this year that the number of cases had decreased from the same month in 2010, according to data released yesterday from the U.S.  Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii.

For the year, the 1,567 cases filed are 5.1 percent lower than the 1,651 filings through May of last year.

There were no Chapter 11 reorganization filings by Hawaii businesses in May, though two businesses, Oahu-based B.J. Genz Plumbing LLC and Vision Communications Inc., which does business on Kauai as Kekaha Enterprises, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation.

While the number of Chapter 7 cases, which offer debt liquidation, dropped 10.4 percent in May from a year ago, the number of Chapter 13 filings shot up 40.9 percent, to 93 cases from 66 for the same period. One reason could be the number of homeowners "trying to save their home" from foreclosure, said bankruptcy attorney Edward Magauran.

"People are facing foreclosure and they're also at the same time racing to modify their mortgages under the HAMP (federal Home Affordable Modification Program), and they're not getting it done. Either the bank isn't taking them seriously and doesn't modify their mortgages, or foreclosure is breathing down their necks, so a lot of people will file a Chapter 13 to keep their real property," he said.

In such cases, filers can keep their real property, even if they are behind on payments, provided they make their regular  monthly mortgage payments on time from and after the date of filing, and pay the Chapter 13 trustee a monthly amount to be disbursed to creditors, Magauran said. "The mortgage company then must treat you as being current, provided you do both of those things," giving filers the opportunity to attempt to complete a mortgage loan modification.

"The other absolutely, unbelievable, beautiful thing that you can do in a Chapter 13 that you cannot do in a 7, and we're seeing more of these, is lien stripping," he said. That practice strips a second mortgage from real property, as long as the homeowner owes more money on the first mortgage than the current fair market value of the property, Magauran said.

Other debts also may be restructured and partially discharged in Chapter 13 cases, Magauran said.

Some Chapter 13 filers probably should have filed under Chapter 7, said bankruptcy attorney Blake Goodman, but to some attorneys,"it's all about fees, to be extremely honest." A Chapter 13 case might cost an average of $4,000 to complete, while a Chapter 7 case can cost a filer between $1,200 and $1,500.

However, the "whole idea" behind the 2005 change in bankruptcy law was to "force more people into Chapter 13," so that more  of their debt would be paid off, rather than discharged through Chapter 7 filings.

Given that, a Chapter 13 case is "a very powerful tool for a lot of things that a Chapter 7 cannot help with," said Goodman, who has represented bankruptcy clients in three states over 21 years.

The 93 Chapter 13 filings represent just under 28 percent of the May total, which Goodman believes underrepresents the "number of cases that should be filed to service the debt problems that are out there." A more realistic split between the types of personal bankruptcy filings is 40 percent Chapter 13 and 60 percent Chapter 7, he said.

In any event, Goodman's case load has somewhat lightened since last year when professionals in various industries were "lined  up around my office," making his current outlook on the economy "very rosy" compared with a year ago.

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Posted in bankruptcy filings , Chapter 11 Bankruptcy , Chapter 13 bankruptcy , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , foreclosure , statewide bankruptcy

"I wanted an Erie Bankruptcy Lawyer, Someone Local"

"I wanted an Erie Bankruptcy Lawyer, someone local and that is why I chose Foster Law Offices." One Foster Law Offices client says if she would have followed what she wanted in the first place it would have saved her not only valuable time, but thousands of dollars.

As the Marketing Director for Foster Law Offices, I spend hours promoting our bankruptcy business, making our website and social media applications more user-friendly and educational for our clients, and asking myself the "million dollar question" what is it, that people look for when choosing "the right" bankruptcy attorney ?

I knew a local lawyer was important, but I realized local was imperative after one woman shared her story of horror that caused her even more sleepness nights and thousands of  lost dollars.

We will call her, "Betty". Betty has a good job, a reliable vehicle and also owns home but Betty also is over her head in medical debt, school loans and credit card debt. Betty didn't choose to be buried in debt, instead she was a "victim of circumstance" just like so many others who find themselves buried in debt after years of careful planning to protect their financial future. Due to the poor economy, her position was cut completely, leaving Betty unemployed; she decided to go back to school. When Betty was a full time, adult student she was also diagnosed with a medical condition, that required hospitalization, expensive medications and long-term treatment including therapy and follow-up appointments which added up quick, since Betty did not have insurance.

Betty created a payment plan with the hospital and did the best she could to make monthly payments. To make ends meet Betty often had to put common purchases such as fuel, medication and groceries on her credit card. Over time, Betty graduated from college and got a good job; but the medical bills, school loans and mounting credit card debt was weighing her down. Just as she got home from work to eat dinner, her phone would ring - a creditor from the hospital, then a creditor from the credit card company after explaining her situation to each and feeling emotionally exhausted she would settle in to relax and watch TV and the second and sometimes third wave of creditors would call - creditors for the same bills, Betty described the ringing, endless calls and letters as being in a "financial prison" she often had to un-hook the phone just to think. She was working as hard as she could, she planned to pay all of her debts back but the interest of the credit card debt continued to rise and the medical bills and their harassing collectors did not go away.

Betty knew she needed to at least talk to a local bankruptcy attorney in Erie and see if there was anything she could do to make her situation better, to make sure she didn't lose her home. Betty was busy and she wasn't behind on any payments yet, so she decided to just try to "hang in there" for another month.

A couple weeks later, during dinner, her phone rang and Betty answered it... This time it was a debt consolidation company offering her financial freedom without having to file bankruptcy. Betty was interested, the salesman on the phone was from out of state, but he said that he had helped several others in the Erie area. He told Betty that he could arrange a plan to help her pay off  approximately $10,000 dollars of credit card debt in 4-5 years. The salesman explained that the first payment would be drawn directly from her checking account the next month.

Reluctant at first, since the man on the phone was not an attorney and also wasn't local; she had an instinct to pass and talk to someone who was a licensed lawyer with a local office who she could meet face to face; but the man on the phone sympathized with how busy she was and as a "closing technique" he reminded Betty how his debt consolidation plan could help her credit and she wouldn't have to, "well, settle for bankruptcy." Betty caved, she said she was a fighter and he made bankruptcy sound like a failure so she said, "let's do it."

The payment was drawn from her checking accounty, Betty felt a wave of relief. The next month her false sense of financial freedom was replaced with feelings of anger and panic. The credit card company calls had increased! This time they asked Betty why she stopped paying her bills completely ? She told the creditors that her "debt consolidation" company was handling the payments. She immediately called her debt consolidation company, and asked for "John P" the man who sold her the plan. He was not available, but a new rep was on the line to help, he re-assured Betty that they send out proposals to the creditors and were paying the credit card. "Proposals" Betty asked, I thought this was a concrete plan? The man on the phone said he would have to transfer Betty to a different department, and during the transfer the line went dead.

This vicious cycle continued for months, and finally Betty checked her credit score and was shocked at what she found, she had 6 months of 30 day late fees, no payments had been made and her credit score looked more like the cost of a gallon of gas. The Debt Consolidation company has scammed her, keeping her  payments and turning a promise of financial freedom into a prison of  deepening debt.

Betty was forced to re-evaluate her course of action, and she went back to her original plan, to call a local, licensed bankruptcy lawyer who served Erie, PA and was forced to abide by the laws. She found Foster Law Offices, a local, licensed law firm whose firm helps people file for Bankruptcy under the US Bankruptcy code. They are experienced with debt consolidation scams and determining the correct course of action including filing Chapter 11, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

Betty never got her thousands of dollars back from the debt consolidation company, but she did get her financial freedom. After working with Foster Law Offices, she was able to file bankruptcy, keep her home and start fresh. Finally, she can eat dinner and she is happy to answer the phone when the phone rings.

BEFORE you become a victim of deceptive debt consolidation practices, take the time to consult with an Erie Bankruptcy Lawyer, someone local. At Foster Law Offices, there is no pressure to commit. There is NO consultation is free.

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Posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy , Chapter 13 , Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , debt consolidation , Erie Bankruptcy Lawyer , Foster Law Offices , local bankruptcy attorney

Foster Law Offices Introduces Erie, PA Bankruptcy Blog

Foster Law Offices introduces the Erie, PA Bankruptcy Blog. Thanks for visiting our new blog - we are working hard to create the a comprehensive source for information on bankruptcy in Erie County including articles on Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and more.

Please be patient as we continue to improve the design and function of our new blog!

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Posted in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy , Erie PA Bankruptcy Blog , Foster Law Offices