Victims Of A $43 Million California Real Estate Ponzi Scheme Being Victimized Again; This Time By The Federal Bankruptcy Process
- After losing nearly all of his savings in a Bay Area real estate scam, Mel Nashban's life quickly fell apart. The retired trucking company owner suffered through a divorce, was forced to sell his Carmel home and found himself living on $1,040 a month in Social Security income. Now, Nashban, 79, and many of the dozens of other elderly victims who lost a combined $43 million to scam artist Michael Schneider, feel they are being victimized again - this time by the bankruptcy process.
- Schneider pleaded no contest in July to 173 felony counts for his role in swindling dozens of elderly victims in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. And now his assets - liquidated for about $11.3 million, according to court documents - remain tied up in a lengthy bankruptcy court proceeding that underscores the growing concern about a system designed to divvy up the scraps when an enterprise goes bad.
- At the rate attorneys and trustees are racking up fees, the fraud victims fear they have already lost any chance of recouping even a small portion of their losses.
See also, Where the money is going.
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