Michael D. West
US Bankruptcy Administrator
PO Box 1828
Greensboro NC 27402
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
re: Brent A. Hanson
Chapter 13 bankruptcy case 05-82419
Filed 23 August 2005
Mr. West,
I write to inform you of acts by debtor Brent A. Hanson, which appear to constitute bad faith and/or fraud upon his creditors and upon the Bankruptcy Court of the Middle District of North Carolina[I]. Specifically, the debtor did not disclose valuable assets[II] and apparently took deliberate steps to assure that his malfeasance would not be discovered. The assets in question are Internet domains and websites that by the debtor’s own admission are worth tens of thousands of dollars[III].
I am litigating against Mr. Hanson for defamation[IV]. It was during investigation after filing my defamation lawsuit that I discovered Mr. Hanson's bankruptcy and apparent fraud. I have retained counsel to request the bankruptcy court lift any applicable stay so I may proceed with litigation in California.
Research has led me to conclude that debtor Brent Hanson paid for, registered, provided content to, operates, and controls several valuable Internet websites, including LasikFraud.com[V], BrentHanson.com[VI], TLCSurgeons.com[VII], and several others. Mr. Hanson has publicly acknowledged that he has received an offer of $10,000 for just one of these websites[VIII].
Analysis of the facts lead me to conclude that Mr. Hanson owned these websites at the time he filed for bankruptcy protection, that Mr. Hanson knew these websites had significant value when he failed to list these assets in his bankruptcy application, and that with intent of malice, fraud, and in bad faith Mr. Hanson concealed his ownership of these domains. I have learned that Mr. Hanson has a history of attempting to hide ownership of websites from courts, including employing the use of offshore resources[IX].
In his filing Mr. Hanson listed as a creditor "William Booth”, with an entire address of “TX"[X]. This could only have been William A. Boothe, MD of Dallas, Texas. Dr. Boothe successfully sued Mr. Hanson for defamation, reaching a settlement only to have Mr. Hanson file for bankruptcy protection a few weeks later[XI].
There is no doubt that Mr. Hanson knows the correct spelling of Dr. Boothe's name and the doctor’s address. There is a standing court order that demands he know this.
A Dallas court responded to threats of violence by Mr. Hanson against Dr. Boothe with an order of restraint[XII] requiring Mr. Hanson to stay at least 500 feet away from Dr. Boothe's business address, home address, family, staff, and even Dr. Boothe's lawyer’s address. This temporary order was later made a permanent order of restraint against Mr. Hanson as a part of the aforementioned settlement agreement.
It is my opinion that the misspelling of Dr. Boothe’s name and lack of complete address was a deliberate act by Mr. Hanson to illegally limit Dr. Boothe’s rights as a creditor. I also believe that this act of subterfuge was calculated to assure that Mr. Hanson’s website ownership would not be revealed.
Mr. Hanson's defamation of Dr. Boothe included publication of statements about Dr. Boothe on Mr. Hanson's websites[XIII]. If Dr. Boothe had been appropriately notified of Mr. Hanson's filing for bankruptcy protection, the absence of Mr. Hanson's valuable websites and domains would have most certainly been noticed by Dr. Boothe and reported to the court. It appears that Mr. Hanson not only attempted to defraud the court and to deny Dr. Boothe his rights as a creditor, but Mr. Hanson endeavored to deny Dr. Boothe his rights as a successful plaintiff in the Dallas case.
In light of these facts, it seems appropriate for your office to verify the information I have presented and act on your findings. If my accusations of fraud and bad faith are valid, then I believe it would be in the best interests of Mr. Hanson's debtor's, in the spirit of fairness, and by the letter of the law, that the court secure all of Mr. Hanson’s assets, convert the Chapter 13 bankruptcy to Chapter 7, and liquidate Mr. Hanson’s non-exempt assets to provide creditor relief.
It appears that the true value of Mr. Hanson’s assets is equal to or greater than Mr. Hanson's total liabilities. Mr. Hanson's creditors would conceivably receive 100% of the amounts owed immediately, rather than the 27% over three years offered by Mr. Hanson.
If Mr. Hanson’s Internet websites and domains do become available for purchase through the bankruptcy court, please notify me. I am in contact with several parties who would be interested in purchasing them.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and attention to this matter. Please kindly respond to affirm receipt of this information.
/s/ Glenn Hagele
