Arizona bankruptcy filings for 2010 remained high, with a record number of indivudals filing for bankruptcy in the Phoenix area.

Many Arizona residents are still struggling with large amounts of debt and reduced incomes that cause them to seek debt relief through bankruptcy. Phoenix residents filed for bankruptcy in record numbers in 2010 with a total of 31,207 filings.

The money woes of Arizona residents are part of a larger western trend. Nevada, California, and Arizona all have higher-than-average bankruptcy rates and top the list of states with the most filings.

If you are struggling with seemingly insurmountable debt, there are options available to you to help you restart your finances. To learn how an experienced Arizona consumer bankruptcy attorney can assist you with your case, contact the Harmon Law Office, LLC, today by calling 480-829-0494.

Malcom Bell, an Illinois hedge fund manager who helped facilitate the recent Petters Co. Inc. fraud scheme, was sentenced this week in federal court in St. Paul to six years in prison.

The 45-year-old owned a fund called called Lancelot Investment Management, which had invested all of its money in PCl promissory notes. When PCl fell behind in paying notes held by Lancelot, Bell devised a plan to make it seem to Lancelot investors that PCl was paying off its notes.

In his plea bargain, Bell admitted that he had obtained more than $200 million from investory.

If your business is facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, contact the Arizona Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers of Harmon Law Office, LLC at 480-829-0494 to learn more about your rights.

Malcom Bell, an Illinois hedge fund manager who helped facilitate the recent Petters Co. Inc. fraud scheme, was sentenced this week in federal court in St. Paul to six years in prison.

The 45-year-old owned a fund called called Lancelot Investment Management, which had invested all of its money in PCl promissory notes. When PCl fell behind in paying notes held by Lancelot, Bell devised a plan to make it seem to Lancelot investors that PCl was paying off its notes.

In his plea bargain, Bell admitted that he had obtained more than $200 million from investory.

If your business is facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, contact the Arizona Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers of Harmon Law Office, LLC at 480-829-0494 to learn more about your rights.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports that, "A Colorado-based solar panel manufacturer will get federal help to take over the empty Getrag plant." The federal government has loaned Abound Solar $400 million. The government hopes to encourage alternate energy sources. 

According the Business Journal, "The plant, where transmissions were to be built, has stood empty since 2008. Getrag Manufacturing LLC filed for bankruptcyand halted work on the plant after the company's partnership with Chrysler LLC collapsed. The facility has never beenused."

Abound Solar has plans to invest $500 million in the plant themselves. The IBJ quotes Abound executive Steve Abely, "'We are excited about the opportunity to make America aglobal driver of renewable, affordable and abundantsolar energy.'"

If you or your company faces bankruptcy, contact the Arizona bankruptcy lawyers at the Harmon Law Office, LLC, by dialing 877-829-0494. 

Foreclosure filings have finally begun to level off, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

New York witnessed a 21.5 percent drop in foreclosure filings on properties, significantly over the nationwide 2 percent drop.

This marks the first month of the year that the number of foreclosure filings has decreased rather than increased.

“There were two important milestones in the April numbers that show foreclosure activity has begun to plateau — but at a very high level that will not drop off in the near future,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “April was the first month in the history of our report with an annual decrease in U.S. foreclosure activity. Secondly, bank repossessions, or REOs, hit a record monthly high for the report even while default notices dropped substantially on a monthly and annual basis.”“

We expect a similar pattern to continue for most of this year,” Saccacio said, “with the overall numbers staying at a high level and ripples of activity hitting the various stages of the foreclosure process as lenders systematically work through the backlog of distressed properties.”

Nevada led the other states in foreclosure rates, with one of every 69 housing units being foreclosed on. California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, and Nevada foreclosures account for more than 50 percent of the nation's total filings.

If you are facing bankruptcy or a foreclosure filing, contact the Arizona bankruptcy lawyers of the Harmon Law Office, LLC, at 480-829-0494.