- Case Type:
- Business
- Case Status:
- Affirmed
- Citation:
- 22-6004 (8th Circuit, Nov 22,2022) Published
- Tag(s):
-
- Ruling:
- The BAP for the 8th Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court (D. Minn.) which denied the Debtor’s 27 motions, including requests to reopen the bankruptcy case, review prior rulings, and revisit the trustee’s actions, among others. Although the BAP did not expressly address all 27 motions, it found that the Debtor’s brief mischaracterized the law or the facts and that the purpose of such motions was to collaterally attack the Debtor’s criminal conviction. As a result, the BAP found that the bankruptcy court did not abuse its discretion in denying the Debtor’s motions.
- Procedural context:
- While serving his prison sentence, the Debtor filed three motions to reopen his bankruptcy case, all of which were unsuccessful. Amidst the appeal of such motions -which were also unsuccessful- the Debtor filed a host of other pleadings, including a request for appointment of counsel, a motion for writ of mandamus ordering the trustee to return the $7,500 payment mentioned previously, a summary judgment motion, a recusal motion, among others. The bankruptcy court denied all 27 of the Debtor’s motions.
- Facts:
- The Debtor was founder, president and CEO of a company called PureChoice. The Debtor obtained several loans without disclosing the full extent of PureChoice’s dire financial state. He also represented that the funding would be used to restructure its debt and fund its operations when in fact, it wasn’t. Eventually, one of the investors sued the Debtor to recover $1.5 million in unpaid loans. The Debtor filed bankruptcy on April 29, 2011, which stayed the investor’s collection action. In November, 2016, a jury convicted the Debtor several counts of fraud, including bankruptcy fraud.
- Judge(s):
- SCHERMER, SHODEEN and DOW, Bankruptcy Judges
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