Thomas Gerard Martino has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver with liabilities of $78.6 million and assets of $1.37 million. It lists secured claims of $3 million and unsecured claims of $75.6 million.

So, what; who is this Martino guy? Thousands of people across the U.S. file bankruptcy every year (which you would know if you are a regular reader of the Legal Helpers blogs). Mr. Martino, better known as Tom Martino, is a consumer affairs watchdog and media personality in the “mile-high city” of Denver, Colorado.

However, Martino told the Denver Business Journal that he ‘only’ owes about $36 million, and that the bankruptcy filing listed one $14 million debt three times, which a legal spokesman confirmed.

Martino, who once appeared on KDVR/Fox31, blames “bad commercial real estate debt, the recession and two failed banks for his financial problems” writes Heather Draper on www.bizjournals.com. He avers that he has no consumer debt.

The bankruptcy filing lists 11 business entities for Martino: Troubleshooter Network Inc., Tom Martino Consulting LLC, Liberty Bell LLC, Appel Farms Group LLC, Moomba II Inc., Parker Place LLC, Parker Tech Center, Sherman Properties LLC, WSOP Investments LLC, Welton Street Properties LLC and Colorado Airplane Hangar Co.

He claimed income of $2.15 million last year from three sources: Troubleshooter Network, Tom Martino Consulting LLC and Denver TV station KDVR.
Martino’s bankruptcy filing lists five secured creditors: failed New Frontier Bank’s Longmont branch, which is now controlled by the FDIC; Brian Buckley; Colony AMC OPCO LLC and two FDIC accounts.

The bankruptcy also lists 23 unsecured creditors including Bank of the West, the City of Fort Lupton, Colony AMC, failed Colorado Capital Bank, El Paso County District Court, First Citizens Bank (successor to Colorado Capital Bank),Welton Street Properties, Macquarie Mortgage, Cornerstone Property Management, Ferrellgas, International Bank and the homeowners association for Appel Farms, a now-dissolved company of Martino’s.

Martino, however, states that he has only three creditors: Colony AMC, to which he owes about $34 million; failed Colorado Capital Bank, about $3 million and International Bank, $1 million.

The Business Journal article states that Martino, who is known for his aggressive style of going after businesses that he deems unethical, said he did “nothing wrong” to force his bankruptcy. “’How does this reflect on me? It doesn’t. Real estate values declined. I owned real estate … and now the country is going to hell. There is nothing I could have done differently, except not invest in real estate.’”

Martino said his trouble began with the 2009 failure of the New Frontier Bank, in which he had $1.5 million in cash. (Since the FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000, the real question is why a person with financial acumen would leave uninsured funds in any one bank).

He also stated that his properties, like those of tens of thousands of Americans, lost about 40% of their value after the financial crisis hit, so he couldn’t get loans to refinance his debt.

In the article, Martino insists that he is being “completely open and transparent” about his bankruptcy, since it would otherwise be “hypocritical”; he has been talking about his financial problems on his radio show and blogging about it for a year. He also doesn’t think the bankruptcy filing will hurt his reputation as a consumer advocate.

Your overwhelming debt is a very serious matter requiring serious and capable help. Filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy is complicated. You need a knowledgeable and experienced bankruptcy attorney from Legal Helpers. Log onto www.legalhelpers.com or call toll-free 800-260-1402 for your free initial consultation. Attorneys from Legal Helpers have helped over 56,000 consumers in the last three years discharge their debt.

Scott Jordan, who has owned several businesses as well as being a Black Hawk County supervisor, has filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Iowa's northern district, claiming approximately $10 million in debt. The bankruptcy names Lincoln Savings Bank, with a $6.7 million claim, as Jordan’s largest creditor.

The filing, writes Jeff Reinitz for www.wcfcourier.com (Cedar Valley Business), allegedly occurred at the same time that Jordan faced a number of civil lawsuits in conjunction with debt connected with Scott's Electric as well as other residential and commercial rental properties he owns and/or operates.
Jordan states that his financial woes followed the 2008 record floods in Iowa. Floodwaters swamped his electrical contracting business in Waterloo as well as at least one of his apartment buildings, which he has been unable to get repaired. He said that he thought he would be able to obtain a low-interest loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration that would allow him to regain his financial footing. However, the SBA loan has not come through, three years following the deluge.

According to Jordan and court documents and reported in the same article, he is facing the following lawsuits and financial entanglements:
• Scott's Electric went from 53 employees in 2008 to six in 2011.
• Properties owned by Jordan's Heartland Holdings were put under the supervision of a receiver as part of lawsuits brought by Lincoln Savings Bank, which stems from three loans totaling over $5 million.
• Crescent Electric Supply, a Scott’s Electric vendor of 25 years, has a $500,000 judgment for unpaid bills. Jordan’s attempt for negotiated payments of $5,000 a month in January was rebuffed by Crescent, which stated that the amount was insufficient, and attempted to garnish one of his bank accounts. In court records, an attorney apparently representing Scott's Electric tried to stop it, claiming the move raided money designated for employee wages and health insurance.
• Community National Bank seeks $400,000 from Jordan for another loan that had to be renegotiated.

If you are a small business owner seeking bankruptcy protection, you need to contact the lawyers at Legal Helpers. With 100 offices across the country, we are experienced and knowledgeable in the field of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 personal and business bankruptcy protection in most states. Call us toll-free at 800-260-1402 today for your initial free consultation or log onto www.legalhelpers.com. In the last three years, we have helped 56,000 people who, like you, have complicated financial and legal encumbrances. Don’t trust your bankruptcy to anyone but the attorneys from Legal Helpers.

First, the good news—the U.S. added 103,000 jobs in September, which is definitely an improvement over the stagnant dog days of summer (with zero jobs added in August). According to www.washingtonpost.com, even these relatively few new jobs “were enough to calm fears of a new recession that have hung over Wall Street and the nation for weeks.”

The not-so-good-news (I loathe using the word “bad”) - the unemployment rate stayed at 9.1%. Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets, opined that the numbers show that the economy is not gaining much momentum. After some really down weeks, the Dow Jones, as of this posting is up, as is the bond market.

During the first half of 2011, the U.S. economy grew at the slowest pace since the recession ended in June 2009 (has it really ended?) Since then, the European debt crisis and stock market declines have amplified fears that the economy will continue its sluggish ways.Although this slight uptick in employment is encouraging to many economists, your average American (if there is such a person) is not feeling a great deal of elation. The jobless rate has been mired as if at the LaBrea Tar Pits; the economy must add about 125,000 jobs each month to bring down the unemployment tally.

Even the Obama White House concedes that unemployment will probably remain pretty much where it is though 2012; that would be the highest rate that any sitting president has faced when seeking reelection since WWII. Not one to face this bleak scenario alone, President Obama “has challenged Congress to get behind his $447 billion jobs bill or risk being run out of Washington”. [This has not occurred, to date].

Some economic reports show that there some signs of increased business activity; temporary help added about 20,000 new jobs and the average workweek became slightly longer. The construction trades, retail and health care saw the biggest percentage of new jobs. Wages have also seen a bit of a raise. Manufacturing jobs, however, are down. This could be the road to more consumer spending, which makes up about 70% of the economy. “When people spend more money, it generates demand for businesses, which hire more workers.” This is the vicious circle for which we all have been waiting. Is it coming, who can know for sure?

What you can be sure of is the excellent advice you get when you contact Legal Helpers. If you have been contemplating filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy due to overwhelming debt resulting from the current poor economy, call the lawyers at Legal Helpers. We are experienced and knowledgeable in the field of all aspects of personal bankruptcy protection and have helped over 100,000 consumers regain their financial security. We have 100 offices across the United States for your convenience. Call us toll-free at 800-260-1402 today for your initial free consultation or log onto www.legalhelpers.com.