73 Year Old Floirda and Wisconsin Man Convicted, Fraud Against Bankruptcy Court

Today we will look at the letter "S".  The question arises, should S be for Scam, or for Seidling?

Yes, poor Mr. Seidling, a 73 year old Key West, Florida and Hayward, Wisconsin man with only $195 to his name, was forced to file bankruptcy, and what made it even worse, he was unable to participate in his bankruptcy proceedings because of mental and physical infirmities.  

Well, don't feel too bad about Seidling, as there is more to the story that resulted in Seidling being convicted by a jury on March 13, 2025 of two counts of Fraud and one count of criminal contempt of court.  When Mr. Seidling filed bankruptcy in 2022, he stated he had no real estate, retirement accounts, trust, partnerships, or business related property.  He further stated he had only one deposit account with a balance of $195.  In actuality, Seidling had millions of dollars in personal and business assets, including more than $3M in personal and business bank accounts, over $1M hid beneath his home, and over $100K in cash discovered in his home together with more than $4M in uncashed cashier's checks.

Seidling defrauded the bankruptcy court by representing he could not meaningfully participate in his bankruptcy case because of his mental and physical health, while he was able to manage his businesses, conduct banking activity, and play tennis.

Seidling also violated an order issued by the bankruptcy court prohibiting the transfer or dissipating of assets when he transferred real estate and drained bank accounts.

Seidling is no stranger to the judicial system, as in 2013 he was convicted in Wisconsin of 50 counts of mail fraud and sentenced to 3 years in federal prison. 

His sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025.

Jacksonville FL #1 in Distress Accounts

 A recent article in Wallethub.com reports Jacksonville, Florida as being the number 1 ranked city in the United States out of 100 cities.  While this might sound like great news, it might not be as great as it sounds, unless you are a bankruptcy attorney.  The #1 ranking is in "people with accounts in distress," and has an overall ranking of #3 of cities with the most people in financial distress.  Jacksonville also ranks as #1 in average number of accounts in distress.

 <iframe src="https://cdn.wallethub.com/wallethub/embed/133346/geochart-distressed-cities-2025.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-people-in-financial-distress/133346">WalletHub</a></div>

The site states, "Jacksonville City has the third-most financially distressed residents in the country, this is evident from the fact that nearly 16% of its residents are having accounts in distress, the highest percentage in the nation, along with the highest number of distressed accounts per person.

"In addition, due to financial strain residents of Jacksonville were allowed to defer payments in 2024, as the city saw the biggest change in the share of people with accounts in distress between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024, marking a nearly 87% increase."

For more information on Wallethub's 100 cities, see https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-people-in-financial-distress/133346

 

Student Loan Scam

 I know everyone has run across scams that are, in a strange way, respectfully creative.  Today I received an email regarding my student loan, 

A‎‎‎‎n‎‎‎‎‎‎e‎‎‎‎s‎‎‎‎t‎‎‎‎a‎‎‎‎‎‎s‎‎‎‎s‎‎‎‎i‎‎‎‎a‎‎‎‎ ‎‎‎‎R‎‎‎‎ea‎‎d‎‎‎‎ w‎‎‎‎‎‎i‎‎‎‎t‎‎‎‎h ‎‎th‎‎e‎‎‎‎‎‎ ‎‎S‎‎‎‎t‎‎ud‎‎‎‎‎‎e‎‎n‎‎‎‎t ‎‎L‎‎‎‎oa‎‎‎‎‎‎n D‎‎‎‎e‎‎b‎‎‎‎t D‎‎e‎‎pa‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎r‎‎tme‎‎‎‎nt

The email properly addresses me by name, and states my address, but there is a major problem with the email, in that I do not have a student loan.  Yes, the email is a scam.

Be careful of official sounding emails.  They continue to get more creative in finding a way to separate you from your money.

Florida Judgment Interest Rate, July 1, 2024

 The judgment interest rate effective July 1, 2024 in Florida is 9.46%, or .0258470% daily, as reported by https://myfloridacfo.com, Florida's Chief Financial Officer's website.  This is up from 9.34% as of April 1, 2024, and 9.09% as of January 1, 2024.

 

Sunset of Debt Limits in Chapter 11 Subchapter V and Chapter 13

6/11/2024

It is unlikely Congress will pass legislation to preserve the existing debt limits for Subchapter V and Chapter 13 debtors before they sunset on June 21, 2024.

Absent a legislative fix, the limits will revert to the amounts in effect in March 2020, subject to adjustment for inflation. The Subchapter V debt limit will drop from $7,500,000 to $3,024,725,and the Chapter 13 threshold of $2,750,000 for both secured and unsecured debt will revert to a two-part test that limits eligibility to a maximum of $465,275 for unsecured debt and $1,395,625 for secured debt. If you have a case that won’t meet the eligibility requirements after June 21, 2024, you may want to make sure you get proper counseling from a competent bankruptcy attorney prior to the sunset date.

Scam Call re: Spectrum Billing

 Received a call on voicemail today.

"Dear customer, this voicemail is to inform you that Spectrum is removing the 40% discount offer on your monthly bill. To reactivate is this offer right now please call back the number displayed on the caller ID. Thank you."

Really?   I don't have a Spectrum account.  In fact, it is not even available where I live.

The number did not display on my caller ID, as it was overwritten with "Potential Scam".

So, if you receive an unsolicited call, be cautious.

Delinquency Rate For Auto Loans On Rise For 2023-Q4

 

Wallethub.com is reporting the delinquency rate on automobile loans is up in the 4^th quarter of 2023, as compared to the 3^rd quarter of 2023. This applies to all 50 states. In Florida, where I practice, the state ranks 31^st, with the delinquency rising from 7.88% in Q3 to 12.36% in Q4. Mississippi had the highest Q4 delinquency rate at 23.49%, with Iowa having the lowest at 8.77%, while the largest Q3 to Q4 increase goes to the state of Washington, where they saw a 12.89% increase. For more specific information on each state, see Wallethub.com's website.

Specific to Florida, generally, if your vehicle is repossessed because you are behind on payments, ownership of the vehicle passes to the lien holder, and while bankruptcy may be able to help you regarding the debt owed to the lien holder, it will probably not allow you get your vehicle returned to you. In many other jurisdictions, there may be avenues through the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that will allow you to get your vehicle back.

There may still be avenues available in Florida to getting your vehicle back through negotiations with the creditor. If you find yourself in this predicament, or are behind on vehicle payments, I highly suggest being proactive and seek the advise of a competent bankruptcy attorney in your area.