SSG: when the Brewer really can’t organise a piss up
Reading the petition of the official court trustee seeking to prevent the Brewers filing for chapter 11 is well worth it. Ministry of Truth has the (low quality) PDF and A single blog has a summary. The main thrust is remarkably common-sensible for a lawyer, which is that the company, the assets, and the creditors are all in the UK, so the case doesn’t belong in a US court.
But treasure the following details:
- The inconsistencies in the filing … are that the Debtor’s legal name is not [the one given as petitioner] St Stephen the Great LLC
- The legal name of the entity alleged to be the Debtor is … the same name as a registered charity in the UK … [and]…the taxpayer identification number is the same number for the registered charity.
- The petition states that the Debtor is not for profit entity under the Internal Revenue Code, but the Debtor has no IRS Employee ID number.
- No assets are listed and no bank accounts are listed as recently closed
- The Debtor allegedly operated numerous book stores but there is only one lease identified
- There is no disclosure related to the web site
- The proper party did not execute the statement of financial affairs
For the legal advice and work leading to this dog’s breakfast, St Stephen the Great (co-owner Mark Brewer) have paid (or promised to pay) $75,000 to – wait for it – Mark Brewer!
On a minor local note, here in Worcester it’s been a sunny day, and the awning over the SSG shop was down again saying in big green letters: SPCK bookshops. Unbelievable.
They really can’t do anything right, can they, and they simply go on showing contempt. I’d like to know what action SPCK are taking over this. I’d also like to know what he Charity Commission are doing. Does anyone know?
Update 26 July: Ministry of Truth now has links to some of the main key documents.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
They have organised a piss up. They’ve pissed on everybody. Somebody put a post on asingleblog which reveals Mark Brewer’s past. The Houston Press relates Mark Brewer’s political past. Mark Brewer’s actions in starting new companies in the UK runs true to form.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:24 am
I have downloaded the statement of affairs, the debtor’s bankruptcy schedules, the amendments to the schedules, the disclosure of compensation by attorney for the debtor, the trustee’s motion to dismiss (a much clearer copy), and a strange anonymous letter sent to the Court; all from the US court system’s official PACER service. I will be happy to forward them to you if you will send me an email address via back channel.
July 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Thanks for the offer. I wouldn’t have the knowledge to make much sense of them myself, but others might wish to contact you.
July 27th, 2008 at 12:29 am
[...] I’m not talking about that other story. This is an exclusive. It’s even different than the story I’ve been [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
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August 2nd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
[...] at Metacatholic keeps us informed on the SSG/SPCK bookshops scandal that is inviting oppression of speech in cyberspace of all places while taking Peter Kirk [...]