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Former Crisp & Cole employee appears in bankruptcy court

By VANESSA GREGORY, Californian staff writer
e-mail: vgregory@bakersfield.com | Tuesday, Apr 1 2008 4:37 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, Apr 2 2008 8:46 AM

Former Crisp & Cole Real Estate employee Zane Richards appeared in front of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee in downtown Bakersfield Tuesday as part of his Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.

Richards is seeking forgiveness of more than $4.2 million in debt, court records show.

So far, he appears to be the only associate of the fallen real estate agency to file for bankruptcy.

Richards answered questions under oath during the case’s meeting of creditors, which gives those owed money a chance to question bankruptcy filers.

None showed up to Richards’ meeting, leaving trustee Randell Parker to ask a series of mostly procedural questions.

At one point, Parker paused to study the computer monitor on the desk before him.

“A lot of foreclosures, huh?” he commented.

“Yes, sir,” Richards said quietly.

Five homes Richards bought have already been foreclosed on.

During the creditors meeting, he said he will surrender a sixth.

Richards declined to comment following the brief proceeding.

Richards is one of a number of former Crisp & Cole agency employees, family members and associates linked to problem properties.

As of March 13, more than $69 million worth of loans borrowed by Crisp & Cole associates have gone bad, according to an ongoing Californian tally.

At least 88 properties, most in the metro Bakersfield area, have foreclosed, the tally shows.

The Crisp & Cole agency is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation.

Its former principals, David Crisp and Carl Cole, have also been named in a Department of Real Estate complaint alleging the pair, along with several employees, deceived lenders to obtain home loans.

Richards was not among those named in the regulators’ complaint.