Minnetonka businessman, and the heir apparent of the Carlson Corporate empire, CC.N., has filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as reported by the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minn.
C.C.N. has listed $41.25 million in liabilities and $4.1 million in assets. Of the liabilities - $24.6 million are unsecured.
The assets are mostly real estate, including a second home in Minnetonka next to one that is already in
foreclosure.
The filing affects several lenders that provided C.C.N. with trouble-free access to capital. Crown Bank is listed as the largest unsecured creditor followed by others that include Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank as well as credit unions in Cloquet, Minn. and Lino Lakes.
Crown Bank promises to " aggressively pursue all remedies" as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides a court-supervised restructuring of all debts. Any restructuring may allow creditors an opportunity to recover some of what is owed to them.
C.C.N.'s attorney advised him not to speak to reporters.
Due to delinquent loans secured with a fake coin collection, C.C.N. was the subject of a $3.8 million judgment by Edina's Crown Bank in February. When he later failed to make mortgage payments on a home he owned with his ex-wife, the house was foreclosed on.
He had co-owned both homes with his ex-wife, M.A.N., and part of the divorce decree was that he was to make the mortgage payments.
Also as part of the divorce M.A.N. was to receive alimony - C.C.N. is reportedly two years behind in his payments. Of the $1.28 million that M.A.N. was to receive as part of the divorce settlement, her attorney, M. Sue Wilson, stated that C.C.N. has yet to meet his obligation.
Wilson said, "She hasn't received one penny. She's at her wit's end. She sees him spending money on everything but what he was ordered to pay by the court."
He has, however, met his obligations to pay child support. The couple have two teenaged children.
C.C.N. left the family business in 2006 as it was clear to all that he was not to become the chief executive. The company, Carlson Cos., is a conglomerate in the travel, hospitality and marketing industry.
Around this time he began to have legal disputes with his mother and the board of directors. His mother, M.C.N. was head of the company at the time.
By the time that the suits were eventually dropped, it is alleged that C.C.N. missed out on the executive position due to being plagued with health and addiction issues. Coupled with his physical health, C.C.N. was also struggling with questionable business practices.
Carlson Cos. owns Country Inn and Suites, T.G.I. Fridays and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The family company was founded in 1938 by Curt Carlson.
It was originally known under the name "Gold Bond Stamp Co."
C.C.N., though he had worked his way up in the family's business from dishwasher to chief executive officer, had a history of addictions.
Tom Hubler, the family consultant, surmised, "Money becomes a corruptive kind of thing, people spend without regard to values. The alternative is community service and philanthropy."
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