Bankruptcy of failed Missouri factory project nears end after 10 years in court

Unsecured creditors will get less than a nickel on the dollar for debts left by a Moberly economic development project that went bust in 2011 as Missouri lawmakers worked on a plan to finance air freight shipments from China.

A final report pending before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Dow describes how $2.1 million will be distributed among parties who made claims totaling $41.5 million from the failed Mamtek project.

The report, filed by bankruptcy trustee Bruce Strauss on Jan. 25, caps 10 years of searching for money. He collected a total of $4.7 million, with administrative costs and other expenses taking $2.6 million of the total.

“This was a very complicated case both to ascertain what happened and to seek recovery from parties all over the country,” Strauss said in an interview with The Independent.

When California businessman Bruce Cole brought the Mamtek project to Missouri in 2010, he portrayed it as a venture funded by U.S. and Chinese investors that was building on manufacturing processes already in use in China. It was touted as an example of how partnerships between China and Missouri could make both more prosperous and won an award for community impact based on its job promises.

Read more: https://missouriindependent.com/2022/02/04/bankruptcy-of-failed-missouri-factory-project-nears-end-after-10-years-in-court/