Updating a story we brought you last year, a creditor of former Arkansas Razorbacks football coach John L. Smith alleges that he is attempting to conceal assets in his bankruptcy case.
Smith filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last September. According to court documents, Smith had assets of between $1 million and $10 million and debts of $40.7 million at the time of his filing.
Last week, a creditor, RLBB Acquisition LLC of Louisville, Kentucky, filed a lawsuit against Smith, claiming that he is concealing assets in his case. Smith personally guaranteed loans for real estate investments for RLBB.
RLBB filed the lawsuit against Smith to prevent his $4.5 million debt from being discharged through the bankruptcy case. The company claims that properties owned by Smith in several states were transferred to his wife and adult children, which prevented their liquidation.
Smith’s contract was not renewed by Arkansas following the end of the last football season. He is scheduled take over as coach of Division II’s Fort Lewis College on March 1.
The lawsuit also alleges that Smith renegotiated his $850,000 contract with Arkansas so that he would receive the majority of his income after the football season ended, putting it “beyond the reach of his creditors.”
Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said the school did not agree to push Smith’s salary back to protect him during his bankruptcy case.
“There was absolutely zero efforts by the University of Arkansas, Razorback athletics, the Razorback Foundation to assist coach Smith with hiding assets from bankruptcy court,” Long said to the Associated Press. “I have learned through this process that’s not something we could do, even if we wanted to do.”
Smith’s case is unusual. For most debtors, bankruptcy is the best way to dig out of a financial hole. Filing for bankruptcy allows you to discharge unsecured debts like credit card debt and medical bills. If your financial situation is a problem, contact our Washington DC and Maryland bankruptcy lawyer now for a free consultation.
