According to an article in the Star-Telegram, American Corrective Counseling Services, a debt collection company has agreed to a $2.55 million judgment to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of debtors who claimed they were wrongly led to believe they had to pay costly fees to avoid criminal charges for bouncing checks.
The article said:
“The company [...]

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, a woman who hid more than $255,000 from a bankruptcy trustee has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.
The article said:
“Hardy filed a personal injury lawsuit in 2001 against GE Modular Space Transport International Pool Corp. She filed for bankruptcy before the settlement. Authorities say she hid [...]

According to an article in the Associated Press, the nation’s largest construction subcontractor, Building Materials Holding Corp., will pay nearly $475,000 to a group of construction workers under a legal settlement approved by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the company’s Chapter 11 proceedings.
The article said:
“The lawsuit accused the company and its subsidiaries, including San Francisco-based SelectBuild [...]

Threatened or impending lawsuits can often prompt consumers on the verge of financial disaster to take a serious look at something they’ve been trying to avoid–declaring bankruptcy.

In the bankruptcy case of Lunkes, William J.; In re, the bankruptcy court denied the debtor a bankruptcy exemption for a trust left by the debtor’s father.
The details of the bankruptcy case:
“In 2002, the debtor’s father established a trust. He was the settlor, trustee and beneficiary. The debtor and his four siblings were contingent beneficiaries. [...]

In the bankruptcy case of de la Fuente, Antoinette and Lenord; In re (De la Fuente v. Wells Fargo Bank), the bankruptcy court denied the lender’s motion for entry of a final judgment.
The details of the bankruptcy case:
When Wells Fargo Bank imposed fees on the Chapter 13 debtors’ account, the debtors accused the bank of [...]

According to an article in Bloomberg, Samsonite Co. Stores, the retail division of the luggage-maker Samsonite Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The article said:
“The recession has caused a severe decline in consumers purchasing travel-related goods and the company has responded to this critical situation with a substantial restructuring program,” Kyle Gendreau, chief financial officer [...]

Retailer’s August report reveals their 12th month of sales declines as many company’s hopes for a recovery are dashed.  According to an article in the Star-Telegram, retail stores saw an average sales decline of 3.4 percent for the month of August.
Stores suffering from declining sales include:
Target Corp. – minus 2.9 percent
Limited Brands Inc – minus [...]

Forest Hill set to offer free prescription discount cards.
As the forces on Capitol Hill continue to hash out details regarding a national plan of attack for rising health care expenses, local governments are looking to find ways of their own to help their residents cope with the current healthcare and economic crisis.  CBS 11 reported [...]

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, Texas legislators have created stiffer criminal penalties for those who defraud senior citizens.  The influential group, the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature urged that decisive action be taken against criminals who target senior citizens for foreclosure scams, credit card scams, identify theft and other types of financial abuse.
The [...]

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, Dallas-Fort Worth senior citizens are being targeted by a company claiming that they can help them pay less in property taxes.  Many senior citizen homeowners have received very official looking papers in the mail with a Fort Worth P.O. Box asking that they send $55 for help reducing [...]

The Consumer Law & Policy blog has a very revealing article about a judge in Indiana that took it upon herself to give indigent debtors a choice–”pay up” or “go to jail.”
The blog writer provided the transcript of an exchange between the debtor and the judge:
The Court: “So we’re here today for you to explain [...]