March 25th, 2010 by Reed Allmand 
Michael Lee Wilson could have 10 years removed from his 20 year sentence if his bankruptcy comes up with $2 million for his victims.
Back in October, Michael Lee Wilson Pleaded guilty to 59 felony counts of grand theft, because he had been scamming people through his mortgage company, Pacific Coast Mortgage, for several years. He was originally arrestede in July and charged with 147 counts of some combination of forgery, grand theft, and misrepresentation. He was able to get the number of counts dropped in exchange for his guilty plea to the 59 counts.
He now faces 20 years in prison, but in an effort to recover some of the $14 million he stole from his victims, the court said that Wilson can remove up to 5 years per $1 million he recovers. The maximum amount that he can remove from his sentence is 10 years, so he would need to come up with $2 million. that’s where bankruptcy comes in.
Wilson hasn’t filed for bankruptcy yet, but he reportedly will try to file soon. Bankruptcy will allow the court to fairly gather and distribute Wilson’s remaining assets, and he still has a lot of assets floating around. there is a chance that Wilson can’t file for bankruptcy, and if he can’t it could be bad news for everyone. Well, bad news for everyone other than people who want to see him sit in prison.
If he can’t file, creditors could begin seizing all of his assets, and only victims that obtain legal judgments via civil suits against Wilson could recieve anything. Also, the amound recovered will not count toward reducing Wilson’s prison sentence.
It remains to be seen what happens next, but just like some people believe Wilson still has a lot of assets, others believe he doesn’t have much of anything left. He spent the last several years taking money from people and using it to pay old investors. If he did that than it seems like it is possible that nothing is left.
Well, it’s not every day that you see a case where bankruptcy can help a prisoner have years removed from his sentence. The justice system will make sure he gets the penalties he deserves, but he should be happy that bankruptcy is an option. Otherwise, he’d stand no chance at getting his finances organized enough to pay any of his victims.
If you are struggling financially, contact a good bankruptcy attorney. Bankruptcy could be the fresh financial start that you need.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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