Published: July 22, 2008 12:00 am            

Terrill bankruptcy case reviewed

Trustee questions state campaign reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A Moore lawmaker's 2005 bankruptcy petition is being re-examined by an official assigned to the case, after published reports alleged irregularities between the bankruptcy petition and the lawmaker's state campaign filings.

John D. Mashburn, the original creditor's trustee for state Rep. Randy Terrill and his wife, Angela, filed a motion in Federal Bankruptcy Court last Friday seeking to re-open Rep. Terrill's bankruptcy petition.

Mashburn said state campaign reports show Terrill had received funds from his campaign, which could be considered an asset.

Those funds were not listed on the Terrills' bankruptcy filing.

Mashburn said he didn't "have a political bone to pick" with Terrill and told the Tulsa World "he did not know Terrill was a lawmaker when someone called the attorney and told him Terrill possibly had more assets."

Terrill and his wife filed their Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition Oct. 14, 2005, less than a year after he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Terrill's bankruptcy was discharged March 2, 2006.

Last Friday, Mashburn listed eight reasons for his request.

"On July 18, the trustee received information that the debtor, Randall Terrill, was owed money by his campaign committee, 'Randy Terrill for State Representative 2004' at the time of his bankruptcy filing and that, subsequent to his bankruptcy filing, the committee repaid Mr. Terrill," Mashburn wrote. "Based upon the following information, the trustee believes there are assets which may be recovered and administered for the estate and the estate should be re-opened to allow further investigation and action by the trustee, the United States Trustee or other parties."

Monday, Terrill downplayed the story in a statement published on the web-based McCarville Report.

"I don't mind the trustee taking a second look to make sure everything was done properly," Terrill said. "It's unfortunate ... that some ... are trying to damage me politically because of a family bankruptcy filing; I find it despicable that someone would exploit my wife's financial difficulties during college."

While Terrill claims the bankruptcy petition was due to his wife's "financial difficulties in college," court documents show the couple filed the Chapter 7 petition jointly, with Terrill listed as the debtor and his wife listed as the joint debtor.

Prior to his successful race for the Oklahoma House in 2004, Terrill worked for State Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau and before that for former House Minority Leader Larry Ferguson.

However, Terrill's 2005 bankruptcy petition lists his occupation a "consultant" for the state, and not as a member of the state Legislature. That same listing also shows Terrill claimed payroll deductions of $320 for state retirement, $6.28 for disability insurance, $8.10 for state insurance, and $11.74 for dental insurance.

Those deductions, a state official said, are "not normally paid" to consultants.

"You have to be a state employee to get state insurance," said Department of Central Services spokesman Gerry Smedley.

In their petition, Terrill's wife Angela is listed as an employee of the OU Medical Center. The couple claimed they owed secured creditors $48,670 and unsecured creditors $29,509 -- a total of $78,179.

The Terrills listed $43,250 in assets and reported a monthly joint income of $5,561 with expenditures of $5,499.

The couple also claimed $500 in their checking account; $1,000 worth of furniture and $900 in clothing and said they had no accounts receivable and had no "liquidated debts owed debtor including tax refunds."

But state campaign documents filed that same year paint a somewhat different picture of Terrill's finances.

According to Terrill's Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Report, the C1-R, July 1 to Sept. 30, 2005, Terrill listed $13,912 in his campaign fund.

Terrill's last filing for 2005, which covered the period from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, the same time he filed for bankruptcy -- listed $2,870 in expenditures and an $11,301 loan "owed by the committee."

Those loans, state documents show, were part of Terrill's 2004 campaign and include a $1,001 loan made between Jan 1, 2004, and March 31, 2004; a $3,000 loan made between April 1, 2004, and July 12, 2004; an $800 loan made between July 13, 2004, and Aug. 8, 2004; and a $6,500 loan made between Aug. 10, 2004, and Oct. 18, 2004.

During the first quarter of 2006, while Terrill's bankruptcy was still pending, documents show a $1,500 "loan repayment" was made by the campaign back to Terrill. That payment was made March 1, 2006: one day before the Terrills' bankruptcy was discharged.

On May 6, about two months after the Terrills' bankruptcy was discharged, campaign filings show Terrill made a $5,000 written monetary transfer to his campaign. Then, July 6, 2006, a second loan payment -- this one totaling $7,209 -- was made by the campaign back to Terrill.

Terrill told the McCarville Report Online that loans were not "loans in the traditional sense of the word." He said the "loan repayments" listed on his campaign documents covered ordinary campaign expenses for which he paid and was later reimbursed. He said many of the expenses occurred in 2003 and 2004 -- prior to the bankruptcy filing.

However, Terrill's Jan. 1, 2006, C1-R report lists $450 in three reimbursements, along with the $1,500 "loan repayment" made by the campaign. Those payments, the document shows, were all made on March 1, 2006, one day before the Terrills' bankruptcy petition was discharged.

Additionally, Terrill's April 1-July 10, 2006, campaign filing lists eight reimbursements made by the campaign totaling $2,125. Those reimbursements were all made July 6, 2006, about four months after his bankruptcy petition was discharged. Terrill's campaign also listed $922 in reimbursements May 6, 2006, and $400 in reimbursements April 6, 2006.

Terrill said Monday it is more than coincidence that this case is coming up just a week before election and added that his political opponents have "been trying to pedal this story ... for some time."

Federal officials had not acted on Mashburn's motion as of 5 p.m. Monday. The penalty for making false statements or concealing property on a bankruptcy filings can include a fine up to $500,000 and imprisonment for up to five years.

Terrill said he's confident that a review of the bankruptcy case and all the documents related to it will find nothing wrong.

        

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