A federal bankruptcy judge learned last week that John A. King, the osteopath who generated 124 medical malpractice lawsuits during his seven months on the staff of Putnam General Hospital, has been hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from the court.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal bankruptcy judge learned last week that John A. King, the osteopath who generated 124 medical malpractice lawsuits during his seven months on the staff of Putnam General Hospital, has been hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from the court.
As a result, the judge ruled that King can no longer use his federal bankruptcy filing to eliminate debts or protect himself from financial claims and lawsuits.
On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett in Birmingham, Ala. ruled King defrauded the court by hiding at least $670,000 in assets he held in the Bone Maker Trust, one of several accounts King created.
When King submitted a detailed Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing on Dec. 4, 2007, he stated he had no cash, no checking or savings accounts, no firearms, no clothing, no furs and no jewelry of any value. (He originally filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 21.)
King also stated he had no monthly income, collected no pension benefits and had no monthly expenses.
In his filing, King listed $125,204 in liabilities and $500 in assets - the apparent value of his 1993 Volvo.
Then, on Sept. 19, 2008, King filed an amended personal property schedule in bankruptcy court listing $52,547 in assets. They included $49,747 in pension benefits and $2,000 in a trust fund, as well as the $500 Volvo.
But on Wednesday, during testimony before the Birmingham bankruptcy court, King revealed he had deposited paychecks into his mother's bank account and still had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Bone Maker Trust, according to the Birmingham News.
In recent months, King has reported his residence as his mother's home in Birmingham, Ala.
During Wednesday's proceedings, Judge Bennett told King, "It occurs to me that you've structured your affairs so that your creditors would have great difficulty in reaching into your income as a doctor," the Birmingham News reported.
Bennett said he did not believe most of what King said during his bankruptcy proceedings.
Wednesday's hearing focused on a lawsuit that former patients Renee Blackman and Misty Shepherd filed against King.
Blackman alleged King inflicted unnecessary pain while treating her, and Shepherd alleged King caused major medical problems by overdosing her with prescription drugs. King treated both women at American Family Care clinics near Birmingham in the fall of 2006.
Bennett's order, which cited lawsuits filed by the two women, stated King "is denied a discharge in his underlying bankruptcy case."
U.S. bankruptcy law states any "debtor must ... submit a verified statement of affairs and list of creditors. Knowing and fraudulent misstatements in the statement of financial affairs or schedules may be a basis for an objection to discharge."
Back in December 2006, during a hearing about his medical credentials, King testified before Putnam County Circuit Judge Ed Eagloski that he held assets in 11 different offshore and domestic financial accounts.
King's domestic assets included: the Bone Maker Trust, Bone Lover Trust and Bone Crusher Trust.
King's offshore assets included a limited liability company and trust fund in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Lois Timmer, King's sister and a trustee of his Bone Maker Trust, listed her residence as 11310 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Fla. On some legal filings, King also listed that as his home address.
The Orlando address is not a home, but a commercial building. It houses several businesses and groups, including a firefighters' association, a United Parcel Service center and several companies selling real estate, computers, electronic equipment, hardwood and tile flooring, performance tickets and limousine services.
King also has an ongoing dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, which filed a claim in bankruptcy court stating King owes $1,001,933 in federal income taxes.
Last month, U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin filed a motion to compel King to pay those back taxes with the bankruptcy court in Birmingham.
Bennett ruled in favor of the IRS on Feb. 24, after King failed to show up for the hearing Bennett scheduled for Feb. 19.
King then filed an appeal of Bennett's order, claiming he did not receive the letter informing him about the hearing until Feb. 20.
Last August, King filed a reply to the IRS claims denying "each and every allegation of the claimant's [IRS] claim for the alleged unsecured obligation and the priority obligation."
Last year, the Hospital Corporation of America, based in Nashville, Tenn., which owned Putnam General when King was there, paid about $100 million to settle 124 medical malpractice lawsuits filed by King's former patients in West Virginia.
Most of those lawsuits are pending against King himself.
About 30 of those lawsuits also are pending against Wright Medical Technology Inc., based in Arlington, Tenn., and EBI Inc., a subsidiary of Biomet Inc. in Parsippany, N.J.
Both companies made medical devices and substances King used during his spinal surgeries at Putnam General.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal bankruptcy judge learned last week that John A. King, the osteopath who generated 124 medical malpractice lawsuits during his seven months on the staff of Putnam General Hospital, has been hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from the court.
As a result, the judge ruled that King can no longer use his federal bankruptcy filing to eliminate debts or protect himself from financial claims and lawsuits.
On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett in Birmingham, Ala. ruled King defrauded the court by hiding at least $670,000 in assets he held in the Bone Maker Trust, one of several accounts King created.
When King submitted a detailed Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing on Dec. 4, 2007, he stated he had no cash, no checking or savings accounts, no firearms, no clothing, no furs and no jewelry of any value. (He originally filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 21.)
King also stated he had no monthly income, collected no pension benefits and had no monthly expenses.
In his filing, King listed $125,204 in liabilities and $500 in assets - the apparent value of his 1993 Volvo.
Then, on Sept. 19, 2008, King filed an amended personal property schedule in bankruptcy court listing $52,547 in assets. They included $49,747 in pension benefits and $2,000 in a trust fund, as well as the $500 Volvo.
But on Wednesday, during testimony before the Birmingham bankruptcy court, King revealed he had deposited paychecks into his mother's bank account and still had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Bone Maker Trust, according to the Birmingham News.
In recent months, King has reported his residence as his mother's home in Birmingham, Ala.
During Wednesday's proceedings, Judge Bennett told King, "It occurs to me that you've structured your affairs so that your creditors would have great difficulty in reaching into your income as a doctor," the Birmingham News reported.
Bennett said he did not believe most of what King said during his bankruptcy proceedings.
Wednesday's hearing focused on a lawsuit that former patients Renee Blackman and Misty Shepherd filed against King.
Blackman alleged King inflicted unnecessary pain while treating her, and Shepherd alleged King caused major medical problems by overdosing her with prescription drugs. King treated both women at American Family Care clinics near Birmingham in the fall of 2006.
Bennett's order, which cited lawsuits filed by the two women, stated King "is denied a discharge in his underlying bankruptcy case."
U.S. bankruptcy law states any "debtor must ... submit a verified statement of affairs and list of creditors. Knowing and fraudulent misstatements in the statement of financial affairs or schedules may be a basis for an objection to discharge."
Back in December 2006, during a hearing about his medical credentials, King testified before Putnam County Circuit Judge Ed Eagloski that he held assets in 11 different offshore and domestic financial accounts.
King's domestic assets included: the Bone Maker Trust, Bone Lover Trust and Bone Crusher Trust.
King's offshore assets included a limited liability company and trust fund in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Lois Timmer, King's sister and a trustee of his Bone Maker Trust, listed her residence as 11310 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Fla. On some legal filings, King also listed that as his home address.
The Orlando address is not a home, but a commercial building. It houses several businesses and groups, including a firefighters' association, a United Parcel Service center and several companies selling real estate, computers, electronic equipment, hardwood and tile flooring, performance tickets and limousine services.
King also has an ongoing dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, which filed a claim in bankruptcy court stating King owes $1,001,933 in federal income taxes.
Last month, U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin filed a motion to compel King to pay those back taxes with the bankruptcy court in Birmingham.
Bennett ruled in favor of the IRS on Feb. 24, after King failed to show up for the hearing Bennett scheduled for Feb. 19.
King then filed an appeal of Bennett's order, claiming he did not receive the letter informing him about the hearing until Feb. 20.
Last August, King filed a reply to the IRS claims denying "each and every allegation of the claimant's [IRS] claim for the alleged unsecured obligation and the priority obligation."
Last year, the Hospital Corporation of America, based in Nashville, Tenn., which owned Putnam General when King was there, paid about $100 million to settle 124 medical malpractice lawsuits filed by King's former patients in West Virginia.
Most of those lawsuits are pending against King himself.
About 30 of those lawsuits also are pending against Wright Medical Technology Inc., based in Arlington, Tenn., and EBI Inc., a subsidiary of Biomet Inc. in Parsippany, N.J.
Both companies made medical devices and substances King used during his spinal surgeries at Putnam General.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
