21 Oct2014
Written by CFB Blogger. Posted in Blog
Richard Russell, who is a Republican candidate for Howard Circuit Court judge, reportedly has a rather dubious financial history, including outstanding tax warrants and a recently dismissed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That really should not deter Russell from gaining the support of taxpayers IF these problems have all been settled. However, according to an article on
www.kokomoperspective.com by Pat Munsey, that does not seem to be the case.
From May 2002 to May 2007, Russell had not paid his Indiana state income taxes in a timely manner. During that time he was served with half a dozen tax warrants in the total amount of $13,652.26. He eventually satisfied those tax arrears, paying them off within four years of the warrants’ issuance.
Russell has also had problems pertaining to unpaid withholding taxes from 2011 to September of this year. Of the 33 unpaid tax bills, he has reportedly paid only three of them. The
Indiana Department of Revenue maintains that he owes a total of $21,949.26 and has paid only $1,561.91, resolving the three.
However, Russell avers that these tax warrants were issued erroneously, with Indiana assessing him for an employee that he does not have. “’I’m still fighting that; they’re wrong. They should all be dismissed. I don’t have a problem with that at all. It should be resolved shortly. I don’t owe it. I didn’t have an employee, but they thought I did, so they kept assessing when they shouldn’t have. The only employee I have is my wife, and I don’t pay her anything.’” [That being an entirely different issue.]
In October 2005, Russell filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy; the case being discharged in March. He had over $674,000 in asserted claims against him. The bankruptcy court allowed $519,935.03 in claims; $411,864.37 was paid from the proceeds of the liquidation.
The news story states that most of the proceeds used to repay creditors came from a single investment, a 20% stake in
Holly Hill, a nursing home in Brazil, Indiana. That stock was collateralized for a loan from
First National Bank valued at $200,000. When his shares were sold, they netted more than double the collateralized value. However, First National received little of that money. As a secured claimant, First National Bank received $77,987.89 of its $214,341.89 asserted claim. T
he U.S. Department of Treasury, another secured claimant, received $35,838.26 of its $53,667.87 asserted claim.
Other creditors in Russell’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy included the trustee of the bankruptcy case,
Bank of America, Union Bank, the
Internal Revenue Service, the Indiana Department of Revenue, the bankruptcy attorney and the accountant for the bankruptcy.
Many creditors, including
American Express, Bank of America, Bank One, Chase, Citibank, Key Bank, MBNA America Bank, National City and
Sears wrote off the debt rather than pursue payment.
Russell’s ex-wife, Belinda Merriman, declined to pursue a $90,000 debt owed from their divorce settlement and Russell’s former law firm partners,
McIntyre, Hilligoss & Welke, did not seek payment for a $30,000 debt Russell listed in his filing, which the firm averred that they had never loaned to Russell.
The unsecured creditors that did seek payment include
Discover, First National Bank,
Portfolio Recovery Associates and
Roundup Funding.
The
Client First Bankruptcy attorneys are among the most knowledgeable consumer bankruptcy attorneys in the country, representing thousands of clients in consumer bankruptcy cases. Call us toll-free at 800-383-6004 Monday thru Friday from 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Central Time. You can also log onto our easy-to-navigate, interactive website at
www.clientfirstbankruptcy.com 24/7 for timely and accurate information on filing your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
