Call them brave, crazy, resourceful, or whatever you chose, but Tareq and Michaele Salahi somehow outsmarted the White House Secret Service enough to not only get into the White House, but also to get close enough to the president to meet him and shake his hand. The story is a weird one for sure, and it’s not often that you can mention President Obama, aspiring “The Real Housewives of D.C.” stars, a popular Virginia winery, and bankruptcy in the same story.
The bankruptcy portion of the story is what you’ll see here though. The Oasis Winery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy back in February 2009, and it is operated by the couple. The story goes further back than that, because control of the winery was given to the couple through a court battle with Tareq and his family. Along with battling for control of the winery, Tareq and his family were suing each other on a few different occasions.
In 2007, Tareq and Michaele Salahi won control over the winery, and since then the winery ran into financial difficulties. According to court records in the Eastern District of Virginia the company claimed assets in the range of $355,000 and liabilities of $965,000. Among the creditors listed are American Express Corp., the IRS, the state of Virginia, and several banks.
At any rate, there is probably still more to surface concerning the Salahi family, but it’s good for them that bankruptcy was an option for the winery. Companies and families are able to turn their financial situations around everyday thanks to bankruptcy. Bankruptcy gives entities the opportunity to wipe out and restructure debts. Bankruptcy can truly be the second chance that a family or company needs to turn its situation around. If you would like to find out more about how bankruptcy can help, contact a bankruptcy attorney.