Appeals court denies request to halt sale of Tulsa couple's assets

Thursday, May 13th 2004, 5:56 am

By: News On 6

DENVER (AP) -- A federal appeals court refused on Wednesday to block the sale of an Oklahoma couple's assets after the collapse of a credit company that allegedly cost investors more than $1 billion.

Bill Bartmann, former president of Commercial Financial Services, and his wife, Kathryn, had asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court's decision that converted their bankruptcy from a Chapter 11 reorganization of debts to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

The Denver-based appeals court said a federal bankruptcy court in Oklahoma acted properly when it said the couple's assets could be sold to help pay off their debts.

A Chapter 11 bankruptcy would have allowed them to reorganize their debts in an attempt to avoid insolvency.

The sale of lavish stables owned by the Bartmanns also was announced Wednesday. Most of the proceeds will go to pay creditors.

In July, a bankruptcy judge determined the couple owed more than $20 million to Tulsa, Okla.-based Commercial Financial Services.

Investigators have said 3,900 people in Tulsa and Oklahoma City lost jobs when the company folded in 1999 amid allegations that executives had falsely inflated performance.

Bartmann was acquitted in December of 57 criminal counts of alleged fraud and money laundering that led to the company's collapse.