Bankruptcy

Cornerstone Ministries Investments, Inc., Lender To Churches And Faith-Based Organizations, Files Chapter 11 Petition

By Scott Riddle

Cornerstone Ministries Investments, Inc. (google finance) filed a Chapter 11 Petition in the Northern District of Georgia on February 10, 2008, Case No. 08-20355.  From the organization's website --

Cornerstone was founded in 1985 to finance church growth and building programs. Often, church plants and start-ups cannot secure financing from conventional sources. That's where Cornerstone helps. Since our founding, we have financed more than 170 churches and assisted hundreds of others with advice and counsel. In that time, none of the churches we have financed have experienced bankruptcy.

We provide short-term (1-3 years) funding so that the churches can get established and begin to grow in their own facilities. It has been shown that churches grow 15-20% faster in the right facilities.

The filing reflects total assets of $159 million, and liabilities of about $154 million, as of September 2007. The largest unsecured creditor is Trinity Trust Company, of Reno, NV, with a claim of $141 million.  CEDE & Co., of New York, a company that often holds stock for other companies, is listed as holding  debt of over $4 million. Other creditors (over 3,000) are listed here.

Scott Riddle's practice focuses on bankruptcy and litigation. Scott has represented Chapter 11 debtors, creditors, trustees and other interested parties in bankruptcy cases and bankruptcy litigation.  For more information, click here.

Full post as published by Georgia Bankruptcy Blog on February 12, 2008 (boomark / email).