Actor files for bankruptcy after falling victim to mortgage fraud
A prominent American actor has filed for bankruptcy after predatory lending practices left him with a mortgage loan that he could not afford and mortgage payments he was unable to make. Now, the actor owes nearly $50,000 in bills and unpaid taxes, which he will likely attempt to resolve during his bankruptcy proceedings.
The actor is Armand Assante, who is best-known for playing intimidating ‘tough guy’ roles in movies such as “Judge Dredd” and “American Gangster.” According to Assante’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, he has experienced financial trouble in recent years as a result of the economic recession, much like millions of people in Georgia and throughout the country.
According to Assante’s attorney, that financial difficulty became unmanageable in 2005. While the actor was filming a movie in Europe, one of his financial advisors was working on a mortgage loan for his Poughkeepsie, New York home. The loan was supposed to place Assante on more solid financial ground. However, the final product did exactly the opposite.
At the eleventh hour, the mortgage company revised the mortgage loan to include several undeveloped parcels of land that Assante owned. As a result, the loan was made for $1.5 million and contained payment terms that Assante could not afford.
The 62-year-old actor was ultimately motivated to file for bankruptcy after his 145-acre horse farm in Poughkeepsie, New York, went into foreclosure and was scheduled to be sold at an upcoming auction. Following Assante’s bankruptcy filing, the foreclosure will be placed on hold pending the outcome of the bankruptcy.
Source: Wall Street Journal, “Actor Armand Assante Enters Bankruptcy,” Katy Stech, Oct. 7, 2011
