More than 2,000 A & M Investment creditors to recoup some losses
A majority of creditors stand to recoup some of their losses in the fallout of the A & M Investment bankruptcy, but more than 400 may be left out.
In filings with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Canton, Oct. 19-Dec. 28, bankruptcy trustee Anne Piero Silagy states that 2,202 creditors met a May 31, 2011 filing deadline. A & M Investments had an estimated 2,698 creditors, as of June 30, 2010, when owner Monroe Beachy filed for bankruptcy.
Court records do not indicate if the remaining creditors who did not make the filing deadline are entitled to any further chance at relief.
Silagy’s office was contacted Wednesday, where a representative said Silagy is preparing a pro rata distribution of Beachy’s remaining assets to creditors this quarter. Silagy referred all other questions to attorney Bruce R. Schrader, who is working with Silagy on the bankruptcy. As of press time, Schrader was not available for comment.
Court records indicate approximately $16.2 million will be available for the distribution. An exact number cannot be substantiated from court records, however.
The available amount includes a $100,000 payment from the Amish Helping Fund. The fund, which helps Amish families purchase homes and other real estate, invested with Beachy. Documents indicate Beachy represented the Amish Helping Fund’s assets at $2.6 million, when in fact the number was closer to $974,000.
The payment by the Amish Helping Fund allows them to retain the remaining assets of approximately $874,000.
Beachy filed for bankruptcy June 30, 2010, allegedly in reaction to an ongoing Security Exchange Commission investigation into A & M Investments. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Beachy told A & M’s creditors that their investments totaled $33 million. The assets held by A & M were actually closer to $17 million.
Beachy was charged in October 2011 in U.S. District Court with one count of mail fraud, a felony offense that carries up to 20 years in prison. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson entered a not guilty plea on Beachy’s behalf at his arraignment.
The criminal charge against Beachy is scheduled for trial March 19 in U.S. District Court, Youngstown. The original trial date of Jan. 3 was moved back after Beachy’s attorney, J. Gerald Ingram, requested more time to review the “voluminous” evidence presented by federal prosecutors in bringing charges against Beachy. The evidence includes Security Exchange Commission (SEC) records as well as U.S. bankruptcy court documents.
According to court documents, the charge stems from Beachy allegedly using the mail to further a fraudulent scheme perpetrated on A & M Investments creditors from Oct. 1, 2006 to June 2010. The charge alleges Beachy made mailings to creditors that carried the false claims that A & M Investments was making a consistent profit in “safe” government backed securities. The indictment reads that Beachy “provided his clients or investors with monthly statements showing interest earned and the account balance” through the mail. The statements led “investors to believe they were earning interest and had an account balance that was overinflated compared to the actual assets of A & M Investments.”
Beachy had actually placed the money into riskier investments, including Internet stocks, shortly before the “dot.com bust” in the stock market, according to court records.
The majority of investors were of the Amish and Mennonite faiths. The investors included children.
In filings with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Canton, Oct. 19-Dec. 28, bankruptcy trustee Anne Piero Silagy states that 2,202 creditors met a May 31, 2011 filing deadline. A & M Investments had an estimated 2,698 creditors, as of June 30, 2010, when owner Monroe Beachy filed for bankruptcy.
Court records do not indicate if the remaining creditors who did not make the filing deadline are entitled to any further chance at relief.
Silagy’s office was contacted Wednesday, where a representative said Silagy is preparing a pro rata distribution of Beachy’s remaining assets to creditors this quarter. Silagy referred all other questions to attorney Bruce R. Schrader, who is working with Silagy on the bankruptcy. As of press time, Schrader was not available for comment.
Court records indicate approximately $16.2 million will be available for the distribution. An exact number cannot be substantiated from court records, however.
The available amount includes a $100,000 payment from the Amish Helping Fund. The fund, which helps Amish families purchase homes and other real estate, invested with Beachy. Documents indicate Beachy represented the Amish Helping Fund’s assets at $2.6 million, when in fact the number was closer to $974,000.
The payment by the Amish Helping Fund allows them to retain the remaining assets of approximately $874,000.
Beachy filed for bankruptcy June 30, 2010, allegedly in reaction to an ongoing Security Exchange Commission investigation into A & M Investments. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Beachy told A & M’s creditors that their investments totaled $33 million. The assets held by A & M were actually closer to $17 million.
Beachy was charged in October 2011 in U.S. District Court with one count of mail fraud, a felony offense that carries up to 20 years in prison. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson entered a not guilty plea on Beachy’s behalf at his arraignment.
The criminal charge against Beachy is scheduled for trial March 19 in U.S. District Court, Youngstown. The original trial date of Jan. 3 was moved back after Beachy’s attorney, J. Gerald Ingram, requested more time to review the “voluminous” evidence presented by federal prosecutors in bringing charges against Beachy. The evidence includes Security Exchange Commission (SEC) records as well as U.S. bankruptcy court documents.
According to court documents, the charge stems from Beachy allegedly using the mail to further a fraudulent scheme perpetrated on A & M Investments creditors from Oct. 1, 2006 to June 2010. The charge alleges Beachy made mailings to creditors that carried the false claims that A & M Investments was making a consistent profit in “safe” government backed securities. The indictment reads that Beachy “provided his clients or investors with monthly statements showing interest earned and the account balance” through the mail. The statements led “investors to believe they were earning interest and had an account balance that was overinflated compared to the actual assets of A & M Investments.”
Beachy had actually placed the money into riskier investments, including Internet stocks, shortly before the “dot.com bust” in the stock market, according to court records.
The majority of investors were of the Amish and Mennonite faiths. The investors included children.
Published: January 4, 2012
