The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "creditors" ...
-
"Properties Disappear From Namvar Holdings List"
Reporter Daniel Miller finds evidence that suggests Ezri Namvar, now a bankrupt businessman accused of conducting a Ponzi scheme, may have been passing off some of his properties to his creditors. Miller investigates what this means for Namvar and for his creditors, and also shares some of their thoughts on Namvar's actions.
Tags: Ezri Namvar; Ponzi scheme; Namco Capital Group Inc.; Cal Neva Resort; Frank Sinatra
-
A Matter of Life and Debt
This article discusses how a record number of people in the Akron-Canton, Ohio area are filing for bankruptcy due to the state's poor economic condition.
Tags: bankruptcy; Akron; creditors; debt
-
Tourney behind on bills; PGA even lost big since ' 98
The Baltimore Business Journal reports on the "financial trouble at the State Farm Senior Classic, a PGA Tour-sponsored golf tournament." As the tournament lost its title sponsor, State Farm Insurance, it accumulated $1.15 million in debts, and is now facing demise. Meanwhile, the organizers kept on increasing the prize money, the Journal reports.
Tags: FOI request; 990 form; IRS; sports; debts; creditors; business
-
Drama in three acts
A Polish Public Television investigative report exposes the scams of corrupt Polish politicians in the beginning of the 90s. The series reveals that most of the key players are "still active and herald the idea of "clean hands in politics." The major finding is that -- with the support of those in power -- huge amount of public money has been illegally transferred to private pockets and enterprises. The investigation focuses specifically on the embezzlement of money from the Foreign Debt Fund, an institution created to manage the debt of the country to foreign creditors. The reporting took place both in Poland and Venezuela, as one of the main players lives in Latin America.
Tags: intelligence; money and politics; fraud; money laundering; counter espionage; international reporting; business
-
Foreclosing on despair
In a five-month investigation of the foreclosure business, Denver Post finds that homeowners and tenants have been victimized by foreclosure investors who forged house deeds and other documents. Some people who signed agreements, hoping to save their houses, soon lost the property, the story reveals. At the same time investors have been making double or triple more than what they originally spent to get a deed. The investigation finds that most often the object of fraud have been low-income and unschooled residents, as well as minorities.
Tags: loans; investors; houses; minorities; creditors; homeowners; mortgage; CAR
-
Hide And Seek
The New Times reports on the exploits of Dallas developer Lou Reese. Reese went to prison for his involvement in savings and loan scandals in the 1980s, but his creditors have been unable to collect the millions owed to him because his fortune is allegedly hidden in off-shore accounts, in his children's trust funds and in property in his wife's name. As a businessman Reese seems to be able to stay a few steps ahead of the game, even though his portfolio is full of questionable deals.
Tags: real estate; off-shore accounts; savings and loan scandal
-
Debt and the salesman
The New Yorker profiles the billionaire Bill Bartmann, owner of Commercial Financial Services (C.F.S.), which "by 1998 .. was reporting a net annual take of about a billion dollars and a scale of profits higher than Microsoft's." The story details how Bartmann reached "the highest altitudes of wealth by buying other people's bad debts from creditors at radical discounts and making those debts yield." The report follows the ups and downs in Bartmann's life from his childhood to his biggest successes in his forties, and looks at "Bartmann's potential liability in C.F.S.-related lawsuits."
Tags: entrepreneurship; consumer debt; fringe banking; pawnbroking; loans; Tulsa; Oklahoma; venture; bankruptcy; credit-card debt
-
Home Is Where The Card Is
Pitch Weekly investigates HomeBuyers Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps people with credit troubles find homes. Owned by David W. Zabawa, this company "provides customers individualized plans of 'attack' that are supposed to help them reach settlements with creditors and rectify disputed accounts on their credit reports. . . Zabawa buys the houses . . . he negotiates deals with homeowners who are eager to make a quick sale. Often, Zabawa pays anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 less than the appraised value of the homes- and sells them to his clients at the appraised value. The difference keeps his organization afloat." The article profiles people who believe this company is 'amazing' and 'helped them out when no one else would'. While others say Zabawa, an ex-convict, robbed them of money and did not guarantee his results.
Tags: homeowners; bankruptcy; credit cards; renting; mortgage companies; Credit Repair Organizations Act
-
Hide and Seek
"The story detailed how one of Dallas' highest-flying '80s real estate developers was able to preserve much of his fortune for his return from a stint in federal prison. It recounted how an enterprising collecting agency, posing as Swiss bankers interested in a deal, lured Lou Reese to a Milan hotel. There, he talked at length about he was able to outfox the U.S. government and his creditors by stashing his fortune abroad and in trusts for his wife and children."
Tags: real estate; Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.; trust funds; bankruptcy
-
1993 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape
The 1993 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape is a compilation of 5 investigative stories. 1.) "Crossing the Line," by 5th Estate, Canadian Broadcasting Company. CBC reveals how women athletes face a lifetime of sexual harassment from male coaches in sports clubs, universities and national teams who demand intimate relations after coaching them to success. See#9984. 2.) "Sewage Sludge," KGTV, San Diego uncovers the illegal dumping of processed human waste onto farmers fields. The stories exposed dangers to human health and the incompetence of city officials. See # 9635. 3.) "Dionne Warwick," Day One, ABC News reveals how the foundation started by Dionne Warwick raised millions of dollars for AIDS research but through mismanagement and extravagant expenses very little went to the charities.The foundation eventually closed its doors with huge debts and 62 creditors. See # 9760. 4.) "In Our Children's Food," Frontline PBS and WGBH, Boston explores the risks of agricultural pesticides and the failure of the government to certify the risks of a number of pesticides which are in widespread use. An investigation finds that the suppression and politicization of a key report about the toxic risks to children. See # 9886. 5.) "Autistic Abuse / Silent Victims," Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Alberta News exposes the abuse of autism patients at a special government-funded home; finds secret documents that indicate government agencies knew of the abuse but didn't act. Authorities closed the home the day after the story ran. See # 9632.