Post by anenro on Feb 1, 2016 15:50:10 GMT 4
Bankruptcy stripped away most of Holcomb brothers’ wealth
The two brothers at the center of the alleged Berjac Ponzi scheme — co-owners Michael and Gary Holcomb — have suffered a string of damaging legal and financial attacks since Berjac collapsed in bankruptcy in August 2012.
The latest blow came in November, when the federal government filed criminal indictments against the two, seeking property forfeiture and money judgements for fraud. They have pleaded not guilty.
That came after bankruptcy trustees over the past two years already had stripped most of the men’s wealth through U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceedings.
Creditors in 2013 forced the Holcomb brothers into involuntary personal bankruptcies, then plucked most of their assets, letting them keep the minimums allowed by Oregon law.
Gary Holcomb’s bankruptcy has just formally concluded.
It yielded $726,000, most of which is going to creditors, according to the trustee’s final report, filed in November. Many of the creditors are the same people seeking to recoup money via the Berjac corporate bankruptcy.
The process against Gary Holcomb involved selling his $600,000 Lake Oswego home, his half share in a Gold Beach vacation home, his 2005 Mercedes ML 500, his gold Rolex watch, and other things, records show. The Rolex sold at auction for $5,800.
Trustees similarly took most of Michael Holcomb’s wealth, although his bankruptcy has not been fully resolved, and a final report has not been filed. His rural Eugene home sold. An auction of some of his other assets — a 1989 Ford F150 pickup (120,490 miles), 2005 Acura RL (147,735 miles), an Allis Chalmers 5030 tractor with implements, two Rolex watches (a women’s gold and a men’s steel), and four model 30-inch-to-36-inch-long historic sailing ships on wooden platforms in plexiglass cases — pulled in $14,918 after commissions. Holcomb owned five such model ships, and the court let him keep one.
In January, the bankruptcy court finalized taking over and selling his one-eighth share in a management company that runs the Spruce Point Assisted Living center in Florence. The share sold at auction for $400,000.
The brothers also lost another big personal asset, the Holcomb Family Ltd. Partnership, which held $1.2 million worth of Pacific Continental Bank stock. All the value went to the Berjac bankruptcy trustee, except for $150,000 to pay lawyers and accountants, court records show.
The November federal indictment lists the brothers and Michael Holcomb’s two daughters, who had worked at Berjac. The indictment alleged the Ponzi scheme constituted mail and wire fraud, money laundering and bank fraud. It cited instances of Berjac using the U.S. mail, electronic communications and bank accounts to take and send money to investors. The four have pleaded not guilty.
