Polaroid, the pioneer of instant photography, must try again to auction off its assets

Polaroid, the pioneer of instant photography, must try again to auction off its assets after failing to win the approval of Judge Gregory F. Kishel of United States Bankruptcy Court for a $56.3 million sale. Last week, the private equity firm Patriarch Partners won an auction for the assets with a bid of $59.1 million. Judge Kishel reopened the auction this week, citing complaints over the procedures. Patriarch lost, and Polaroid sought court approval to sell itself to a joint venture of two liquidation companies, Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Brands. But Patriarch filed papers saying the auction was flawed and should be reopened so it could increase its bid to $55.7 million in cash and 15 percent equity in the new company valued at $9.75 million, a spokesman said. The judge said he would supervise another auction in his courtroom on Thursday.

Investors can force Bernard Madoff into personal bankruptcy proceedings.

Federal judge says investors can force Bernard Madoff into personal bankruptcy proceedings.Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission have argued that it would be unnecessary and costly for the convicted financier to file for personal bankruptcy.
But U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton disagreed in an opinion released Friday.The 70-year-old Madoff is in prison awaiting a June sentencing after pleading guilty last month to charges that he defrauded investors of billions of dollars.A court-appointed trustee is in the process of liquidating his business assets.

Richie MacRitchie,filmed the woman changing at the Falls Leisure Centre on his mobile phone

Richie MacRitchie, 33, originally from County Louth, filmed the woman changing at the Falls Leisure Centre on his mobile phone in October 2006. In February, he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment suspended for two years. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for seven years and later banned from practising law. MacRitchie, who was convicted in January after originally being cleared of voyeurism, admitted filming the woman in a changing booth. At first, a direction of no case to answer was given because his victim was wearing a bikini. Because of this it was decided she was not engaged in a private act according to the Sexual Offences Act. Later, however, the Court of Appeal ordered the prosecution to proceed on a fresh charge of attempted voyeurism. Following the conviction, the Law Society of Northern Ireland referred MacRitchie's case to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal which banned him from practising. A psychiatrist who examined him following his arrest said he was suffering from chronic stress and that he wanted to get caught.
It also emerged during the trial that MacRitchie, who worked as a non-profit making lawyer based at Conway Mill, Belfast, had been up to £100,000 in debt.

Xyience filed under Chapter 11 in March of 2008

Xyience filed under Chapter 11 in March of 2008, which provides protection from creditors and allows the company to try and put together a reorganization plan to be administered by the courts.But that’s not what makes the whole story interesting.This is:
“(The) negotiations, however, were derailed by a campaign of intimidations and threats led by company founder and former CEO Mr. Pike, Terry Cardenas, Ronald Solomon and Rick Klingenberg,” he said.
“Mr. Klingenberg and his brother David Bergstrom stormed into the Xyience office, cornering (Chief Financial Officer) Michael Levy in an office and refusing to allow Mr. Levy to depart until their demands were met,” according to Sattar’s filing.If their mother wasn’t paid, Klingenberg and Bergstrom said “somebody was going to … get killed,” Sattar said. They demanded $20,000 “or else they would return the next day with guys who had a 100 percent collection rate,” according to Sattar’s filing.Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta own the UFC - it also happens that they’re creditors of Xyience with $12.5 million in unsecured claims and $5.3 million in secured claims against the troubled company according to the filing. The Fertittas and the UFC did not immediately comment on the situation.“We’re excited about the opportunity (to reorganize the company), ” he said. “Xyience has a great brand name and has a strong affiliation with the UFC.”According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there is more than a little drama involved in the filing - and it’s aftermath - as well.“Associates of Mr. Pike and Mr. Klingenberg made threats of physical violence against Xyience management and board members and, on at least one occasion, showed up uninvited at the home of one member of management,” Sattar said in bankruptcy court filings.

Michael Vick was back in Atlanta, the city where he rose to football stardom, but as a prisoner

Michael Vick was back in Atlanta, the city where he rose to football stardom, but as a prisoner rather than a player, an official said Friday.Felicia Ponce, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman, said the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback was moved to a medium-security unit in Atlanta from Virginia, where he had been held while attending a bankruptcy hearing last week.Ponce declined to say if authorities plan to move Vick back to a penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., where he has served most of a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting ring.Vick, 28, is scheduled to transfer to home confinement May 21 in Hampton, Va., and is set to be released from federal custody in July.The move comes as Vick is wrestling in bankruptcy court over what he has called his "exit strategy" — a plan to repay creditors with the millions he hopes to resume earning in pro football.A federal bankruptcy judge rejected the plan last week, saying there was no guarantee Vick would be able to resume his NFL career. Vick's status will be reviewed after he is released from prison, commissioner Roger Goodell has said.Vick's plan would allow him to keep the first $750,000 of his projected annual salary; creditors would get part of the rest.Vick was once one of the league's highest-paid players, but lavish spending and poor investments, coupled with the backlash from his dogfighting case, led to his downfall. He filed for bankruptcy in July, claiming assets of $16 million and debts of more than $20 million.Vick signed a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons in December 2004.

Bankruptcy proceedings by current owner, Magna Entertainment Corp.

Bankruptcy proceedings by current owner, Magna Entertainment Corp., have thrown the future of the race and the track into question.
Maryland senators have expressed misgivings about a bill that would strengthen the state's ability to acquire the Preakness Stakes horse race and the track where it is run.The measure would allow Maryland to use eminent domain law, if necessary, to acquire the second leg of the Triple Crown, plus Pimlico Race Course, Laurel Park and the Bowie Race Course Training Center.Several senators worried the state could get a "white elephant" at a time when funds are tight and interest in horse racing is dying. The bill was introduced Wednesday, and is set for a final vote Saturday in the Senate.

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services lowered its debt ratings for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp

Standard and Poor’s Rating Services lowered its debt ratings for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp., and added that bankruptcy is likely and could lead to the break-up of Chrysler.

The agency issued the warning Friday, saying it was lowering the debt ratings because of the increased possibility of bankruptcy if the two members of Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers don’t meet deadlines set by President Barack Obama’s administration, according to numerous media reports

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Obama’s auto plan calls for Chrysler to reach a deal for a merger or partnership with Italian automaker Fiat by the end of April, and for General Motors (NYSE:GM) to come up with a plan to restructure the company by the end of May.S&P Recovery Analyst Greg Maddock told Reuters news agency in an interview that he believes if Chrysler were to go into bankruptcy it would go into liquidation and sell its assets.

Michael A. Daly, 55, of Danvers, Mass., engaged in a scheme to defraud Cisco.

Michael A. Daly, 55, of Danvers, Mass., engaged in a scheme to defraud Cisco. Daly repeatedly created fictitious personal and company names, obtained e-mail accounts related to those names, and used the fictitious names to rent private mailboxes around the United States. Daly then associated the fictitious names and particular Cisco parts with Cisco SMARTnet service contracts and subsequently used the fictitious names to contact Cisco and falsely claim that parts supposedly covered by the SMARTnet contracts were failed or defective and needed to be replaced. As a result, Cisco sent “replacement” parts to Daly’s private mailboxes, where they were then forwarded to Daly’s business address in Salisbury.

Under the SMARTnet program, Cisco agreed to provide customers with technical support, including advance hardware replacement. Advance hardware replacement allows customers to obtain replacement equipment from Cisco immediately, without having first to return the broken part.

Daly also engaged in money laundering by selling the fraudulently obtained “replacement” parts to Cisco equipment resellers around the country. On a number of occasions, Daly received tens of thousands of dollars from Cisco resellers for fraudulently obtained parts. Daly generally did not return any part to Cisco and, when he did, he returned a part not covered by SMARTnet and worth little or nothing. According to a previously-filed criminal complaint, Daly carried out the fraud more than 1300 times and used private mailboxes in 39 states. On each occasion, Daly obtained equipment with a list price ranging from $995 to $25,000. Cisco estimates that the loss is approximately $15,455,695.Daly pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and admitted to the forfeiture allegations contained in the Indictment. The sentencing of Daly is schedule for July 27 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Ronald M. Whyte in United States District Court in San Jose. The maximum statutory penalty for wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1343 is twenty years, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, plus restitution and 3 years of supervised release. The maximum penalty for money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1957 is ten years, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, plus restitution and 3 years of supervised release. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Richard C. Cheng is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of paralegal Lauri Gomez. The guilty plea is the result of an investigation by the San Francisco Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Boston Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Salisbury, Mass., Police Department, and Cisco Global Business Controls.