By John Clark

A report this week from Detroit’s emergency manager says the downtrodden city is completely broke and may soon have to file for bankruptcy, according to the Associated Press.

The report, a 41-page analysis that aimed to portray a realistic picture of the city’s finances, said Detroit is on the verge of financial collapse, which would lead to lost paychecks for city workers, deep service cuts, and the loss of pension benefits.

And Kevyn Orr, the city’s emergency manager, believes that Detroit’s only remaining option could eventually be a trip to bankruptcy court.

Detroit May Soon File for Municipal Bankruptcy

As the city teeters on the brink of financial collapse, Orr has been given the unenviable task of negotiating deals with Detroit’s numerous creditors.

But James McTevia, a financial expert in Detroit, believes that Orr may head to bankruptcy court when he “gets his back against the wall and he can’t meet payroll.”

If such a dire scenario does happen, Orr would be left with few options besides seeking the protection of a bankruptcy judge.

And the report released this week does not bode well for Orr’s attempts to avoid bankruptcy. Sources say Detroit had a staggering $162 budget shortfall as of April 26, and that the deficit will likely approach $390 million in the next two months.

Orr noted in his report that the data could change as his team gathers more information, but said that “continuing along the current path is an ill-advised and unacceptable course of action if the city is to be put on the path to a sustainable future.”

Detroit Sets New Standard for Financial Irresponsibility

According to sources, Detroit is the largest city in the United States to be forced into state control, and the city’s financial collapse led to the extreme solution of placing a single person in charge of its money.

Sources say Orr controls how Detroit spends its budget, as those decisions have been removed from the control of Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council.

The two sides, however, seem to be cooperating, as a recent statement released from Bing’s office says that Orr’s conclusions are “consistent” with the administration’s own findings.

Sources also note that Detroit’s financial woes started well before Bing, a former professional basketball star, took office.

Nevertheless, Bing is now the captain of a sinking ship. In Orr’s words, the city’s operations have been rendered “dysfunctional and wasteful after years of budgetary restrictions, mismanagement, crippling operational practices and, in some cases, indifference or corruption.”

By Mary Ann Pekara

In Tampa this afternoon arguments will be heard in the Casey Anthony bankruptcy case as to whether or not Casey Anthony's life story can be considered property or not.

Last month, Stephen Meininger, the bankruptcy trustee handling Anthony's case, filed a motion that essentially said her life story could be used to pay her off her debt.

In the motion, "the Property" included details of Anthony's childhood (which includes allegations of sexual abuse by her father) as well as the disappearance and death of her daughter, Caylee.

Anthony's attorneys disagree on the basis that such a thing would be invading her constitutional rights and "private thoughts." They say the motion "should be denied because the 'property' that the Trustee seeks to sell does not exist."

"By allowing property that can only be created by post-petition labor to be sold as part of the bankruptcy estate, a debtor would never be able to achieve a "fresh start," the filing says. "Perhaps more troubling, the Order sought by the Trustee would result in the judicial invasion and taking of thoughts and memories that have not been memorialized but are contained solely within the debtor's mind. This is a terrifying Orwellian prospect that would destroy the long-standing protections guaranteed by the Bankruptcy Code."

A $10,000 bid was made on the story by James Schober, an attorney in Texas, who wants to prevent the story from ever getting out. This would stop Anthony from ever making a profit on her life story.

Meininger thinks auctioning off Anthony's story to the highest bidder would best maximize the value for those Anthony owes in her bankruptcy filing, listing over $792,000 in debt.

Anthony, 27, has been unemployed and living with friends since she was acquitted of her daughter's death in 2011. She has yet to share her side of the story.

The Center for Copyright Infringement (CCI) began implementing a less stringent policy regarding Internet piracy in October of 2012. But lawmakers and media companies have not always treated pirates with kid gloves.

In this infographic, we'll look at some of the penalties for downloading music and how they've even forced one young adult into considering filing for bankruptcy.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/obscenely-high-penalties-for-downloading-music-jzbdg/" target="_blank" title="The Obscenely High Penalties for Downloading Music"><img title="penalties for downloading music" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/obscenely-high-penalties-for-downloading-music.png" border="0" alt="penalty for downloading music is high"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

Here Comes the CCI

The CCI claims its new “Copyright Alert System” is less severe than the enforcement measures of yesteryear, but not everyone is convinced.

What is the Copyright Alert System?

• The CCI partners with Internet Services Providers (ISPs) to deliver piracy notifications to violating Internet users.
• Some of these ISPs include AT&T, Comcast®, Cablevision™, Time Warner®, and Verizon.
• The CCI uses a system called “MarkMonitor” to scan users’ IP addresses in search of illegal activity.
• Through a series of six notifications, the CCI attempts to inform the user of their violation(s) and the legal channels through which to get the content they’ve stolen.
• Around the fifth notification, ISPs may unleash “Mitigation Measures” on users.
• These include slowing down users' internet speeds and page redirection.
• Each ISP has a different set of mitigation measures
• The CCI’s goal is to inform users more effectively about their violations, legal pathways to get content, and potential punishments. Litigation is another beast entirely.

Pirates Need a Lot of Booty

Individual prosecutions of Internet piracy are falling by the wayside, largely due to their utter ridiculousness.

• The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been no stranger to the world of insane lawsuits.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset

• 2006: The RIAA filed a complaint against Thomas-Rasset on behalf of six record companies.
• Shortly after, the RIAA offered a $4,500 settlement to the accused pirate. She rejected the offer.
• In 2012, Thomas-Rasset’s damages exceeded $1.5 million.
• A successful Federal Appeals Court case reduced this total to $220,000. That's $9,250 per piece of pirated content

Joel Tenenbaum

• 2007: Tenenbaum was sued by five major record companies for downloading 30 songs.
• Tenenbaum was subsequently slapped with a $675,000 fine on the part of the jury. That's $22,500 per song.
• The trial judge thought the high fine might be unconstitutional and reduced it to $67,500.
• The companies then appealed the decision and requested the district court find a different way to apply the $675,000 in a manner that eliminated constitutionality concerns.
• Were the companies to be successful, Tenenbaum would be forced into bankruptcy.

Piracy's New Penalties Are Still Ridiculous

While the punishments for piracy have become significantly less severe, a handful of unbelievable practices remain in play.

• As the RIAA and others have reduced their piracy penalties, other institutions have taken up the mantle of the ridiculous.

Shotgun Litigation

• Many content producers have begun an entirely new process for punishing pirates.
• This new system swaps high-profile litigation for mass numbers of smaller lawsuits.
• Essentially, the new legal paradigm is “quantity over quality.”
• Companies will initiate a number of smaller, low-profile cases against users—in some cases, as many as 5,000 at a time.
• More than 220,000 users have been hit with such suits since 2010.

Why It's Still Ridiculous

These lawsuits have two core flaws. The first is that the violations are based on IP tracking.

• Tracking someone’s IP address is seldom a good identifier of their actual Internet activities.
• This has a legal precedent, as Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown in New York threw out a piracy case citing the fallibility of IP tracking.
• Notifications of the lawsuits are (ostensibly) based on anonymity once a company finds illegal activity tied to an IP address, they issue a warning.
• In this warning, users are asked to either provide their names so the companies can take litigation further or pay a small fine for their crime (usually in the $5,000 range).
• The problem is that many of these companies deal in content to which users wouldn’t want their names attached.
• Users are thus caught in a self-perpetuating ring of litigation.
• They must either pay up (protecting their anonymity by admitting guilt), or have their reputation destroyed by fighting the suit.

To find a bankruptcy attorney near you, check out Total Bankruptcy.

By Mary Ann Pekara

Coincidence or not? The same day 2 of Casey Anthony's 4 convictions are thrown out by the court, she files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Tampa, Florida.

Although Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her daughter in 2011, she was convicted on 4 counts of lying to detectives during the search for her daughter in 2008.

All 4 convictions were appealed. The judge ruled that the multiple convictions amounted to double jeopardy.

Casey Anthony reported her daughter missing in July of 2008, then led investigators and authorities on a wild goose chase, initially blaming a fictitious nanny by the name of Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez for taking her.

The body of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was found in December close to Casey Anthony's parents house in the Orlando area.

Civil suits have been filed against Anthony by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez who had the misfortune of having the name Anthony used as well as the group that spent significant amounts of time, effort and money searching for the girl.

Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez lost both her job and her home after Anthony's fictitious story went public and is suing Anthony for defamation of character.

Casey Anthony has no reported income and lists approximately 80 creditors in her 60-page bankruptcy filing. Besides consulting and/or service frees for forensics, legal, medial and psychiatric, Anthony also claimed a scuba diving services debt.

What does Casey Anthony owe?

She owes almost $800,000. How does it break down?

• $500,000 in attorney costs and fees
• $145,660 in investigative fees
• $68,540 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• $61,505 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement

What does Casey Anthony have?

According to News 13, her property values are listed as such:

• $474 in cash
• $200 between furniture and a laptop
• $200 in jewelry
• $100 in clothing and accessories

Between the appeals and the civil cases, Casey Anthony continues to look at far more money going out than coming in. But will Chapter 7 bankruptcy allow her to erase all these past debts and start fresh? Only time will tell.

For some, the fairytale bounty that comes with a lottery win can be truly transformative. For many others, however, a big win now with a lack of financial responsibility can lead to bankruptcy woes later.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/how-the-lottery-can-affect-finances-jzbdg/" target="_blank" title="Boom to Bankruptcy: How the Lottery Can Affect Finances"><img title="the lottery and your finances" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/how-the-lottery-can-affect-finances.png" border="0" alt="bankruptcy and the lottery"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

*Notice that the net assets of large winners were only $8,000 higher than small winners.

What about the bankruptcy itself?

Professors from:

• Vanderbilt Law School
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Kentucky

linked Florida Lottery winners to bankruptcy records to see how winning affected their finances.

The result? While big winners are 50% less likely to file for bankruptcy right after winning, they’re more likely to file three to five years later.

Winning $50,000 to $150,000 may postpone bankruptcy, but it doesn’t necessarily prevent it.

• Little evidence exists that taking on additional financial obligations caused the increase in bankruptcy rates for big winners in the three-to-five-year range.

Because the difference in net assets between big and small winners isn’t very large, it seems unlikely the winners chose to increase their assets or pay off debts.

The Darker Side of the Rainbow

• A New Jersey woman won the lottery not once, but twice (in consecutive years), only to gamble away over $5 million dollars in winnings.
• An Illinois man who won $20 million in 1996 was kidnapped and murdered by relatives.

This IG has been brought to you by Total Bankruptcy.

Money may be the ace in the hole, one-size-fits-all gift, but when you’re on a tight budget a $5 gift can seem—at best—a little lackluster or—at worst—reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge.

DIY gifts are great if you are short on time and trying to get out of debt, and the extra thought you took in making something rather than buying speaks volumes.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/amazing-last-minute-holiday-gift-ideas-jzbd/" target="_blank" title="Amazing Last-Minute Holiday Gift Ideas"><img title="last minute holiday gift ideas for you" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/amazing-last-minute-holiday-gift-ideas.png" border="0" alt="gift ideas last minute for you"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

For the Kids: Play Dough

Play Dough is easier than baking cookies—no fussy ingredients, no bake time. Just mix, heat, and cool, and you have childhood in a ball. Did we mention it is hilariously inexpensive? Just wrap it in a leftover plastic container for a quick and easy gift.

Ingredients:

• 1 C flour
• 1 C water
• 1/4 C salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• food coloring (for each batch, 4 drops)

Directions:

• 1) Combine in a pot and stir.
• 2) Put pot on the stove. Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms a ball.
• 3) As soon as it forms a single ball, remove from heat. Let it cool on the counter or wax paper.
• 4) When cool, knead until soft.

For the Stressed People: Hot/Cold Neck Wraps and Stress Balls

Now as ever, people are worried about a lot of things: money, work, school. The holidays can be especially stressful. Imagine the relief of a wind down with a warm or cool neck wrap. This project is also pretty cheap (we estimate $10-15 for a yard of fabric, but you can always find cheaper online). However, it does require a little bit of sewing.

Hot/Cold Neck Wraps

Materials:

• 1/4 yd flannel fabric
• 8 C rice
• thread
• scissors
• sewing machine or know-how

Directions:

• 1) Cut flannel in half—about 21”x9” or something close—and fold in half lengthwise, with the exterior fabric on the inside.
• 2) Pin the sides and sew two sides about 0.25” from the edge. Use a back stitch to secure thread.
• 3) Turn your fabric right side out and pour rice inside. You can add a little more or less depending on your taste.
• 4) Leave enough room inside so the wrap isn’t stiff.
• 5) Shake the rice down to the closed end. Tuck the raw edges inside, pin, and sew the opening closed. Use a back stitch to secure thread.

Makes two wraps. To heat, microwave for 60-90 seconds. To cool, put it in the freezer. The beauty of this is that you can pick the fabric for that special recipient.

Stress Balls

Materials:

• balloons
• flour
• spoon
• funnel or cake decorating tip
• ribbon
• marker
• paper
• hole punch

Directions:

• 1) Using the funnel, fill balloon with flour.
• 2) Press out as much as you can. Tie.
• 3) If you want to leave a message, cut paper into a tag, punch, and decorate. Use ribbon to secure the message to the stress ball.

For the Coffee/Tea Drinkers: Mustache Mugs

Really, these could be more than mustache mugs- they could be whatever you want. But everyone loves mustaches, and it’s a quirky way to personalize something. (Just think: a handlebar mustache on your morning coffee.) This DIY is a little pricier- between the mug, gel, and pen you’ll be pushing $20 (if you buy off-brand stains).

Materials:

• mug
• permanent marker (a Sharpie® or similar)
• porcelain gel, paint, or stain (Pébéo® or similar)
• porcelain pen (Pébéo® or similar)

Directions:

• 1) Draw a mustache (or whatever) in marker on your mug.
• 2) Trace the edges with the porcelain pen.
• 3) Fill in the mustache (or whatever) with gel stain. It will take more than one coat to get a solid shadow - keep at it!
• 4) Follow the directions for the stain (Pebeo Pen and Gels bake at 300 degrees F for 30 minutes to set, but other brands may be different).

For the Stylish Ones: No-Sew Multi-Strand Scarf and Paper Clip Earings

Guys, sometimes DIY style projects are dominated by women, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take these on. They’re as easy and cheap as a recycled t-shirt and some paper clips.

Multi-Strand Scarf

Materials:

• old t-shirt (bigger is better)
• scissors
• ruler

Directions:

• 1) Cut off the bottom hem.
• 2) Cut 1”-2” wide horizontal strips from the bottom to the armpit. Use the ruler as a cutting guide, but don’t worry if they’re a little off.
• 3) Set aside bottom hem. Stretch all strips together until they get long and the rough edges roll inwards.
• 4) Cut the bottom hem to make it a string. Knot it around all the strands, tightly.
• 5) Trim the loose ends and tuck the knot under wrapped fabric.

Paper Clip Earrings

Materials:

• paper clip
• fast drying epoxy or hot glue
• cotton string
• earring hooks

Directions:

• 1) Create a triangular shape with the paperclip.
• 2) Glue the ends together.
• 3) Wrap string around edges of the clip, outlining the triangle. Secure with glue.
• 4) Use a second length of string to wrap across and around the earring, get as wild and creative as you like.
• 5) Clamp earring hooks to the top of the traingle.

The key thing to remember about DIY projects is that you're only truly limited by your creativity, even on a budget.

This infographic has been brought to you by Total Bankruptcy.

More Ways to Save Money

Giving fantastic gifts is never easy when you're struggling with debt. Make the most of your situation by checking out these other guides from Total Bankruptcy:

• What's Your Online Shopping Style?
• Frugal Back-to-School shopping

The Frugal Family

Some Doomsday preppers spend extraordinary amounts of money preparing for the end of the world.

One man in Australia spent over $350,000 on a plot of land to build a house and bunker 1,500 feet above sea level, a pickup truck to get his family safely to the spot, food, water and survival gear. In order to do this, he had to take a second mortgage out on his home.

If the world does not come to an end, all the money people are spending on the preparations for such a disaster could lead to a lot of debt and potential bankruptcies.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/the-doomsday-that-never-comes-jzbdg/" target="_blank" title="The Doomsday That Never Comes"><img title="doomsday events that never happened" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/doomsday-events-that-never-happened.jpeg" border="0" alt="doomsday that never dame"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

Wang Laboratories, First Virtual, and Napster may sound familiar. Or you may never have heard of them. Each company changed the way we use computers.

But not all fairy tales have happy endings—each ended up filing for bankruptcy protection.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/tech-companies-bankruptcy-jzbd/" target="_blank" title="Three Tech Companies That Started Something Great (And Then Went Bankrupt)"><img title="tech companies file bankruptcy" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/tech-companies-bankruptcy.jpg" border="0" alt="bankruptcy for tech companies"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

Wing Laboratories

• Started in 1951 by Chinese immigrant An Wang, Wang Laboratories began as a calculator business.
• They went public in 1967 at $12.50 a share. The first day of trading closed with Wang Laboratories at $40.50 a share.
• The company led the charge in office word processing, debuting the 3300 computer in March of 1971.
• The 3300 could support 2-16 users and had a 4K memory drive.
• To expand the company, Wang took out millions in loans, as many other businessmen did in the 1970s and ‘80s.
• Wang Laboratories failed to keep up in an ever-growing, ever-changing industry.
• After years of job cuts and profit losses, their revenue hit $3 billion in 1988.
• An Wang fired his son as president and named Richard Millard to lead the company in restructuring after a $424 million loss.
• Wang Laboratories teamed up with IBM, one of their largest competitors, in 1991. The company lost $386 million in the partnership.
• On Aug. 18, 1992, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (announcing a $550 million debt).
• Modern word processing
• HP
• IBM
• Microsoft
• Apple

Napster

• Then-college student Shawn Fanning was struck by inspiration in mid-1999.
• He feverishly coded the first-ever music file-sharing program, Napster, despite everyone he mentioned it to saying it would never catch on.
• Napster reengineered how people share files (specifically music) online.
• In less than a year of operation, Napster exceeded 25 million users.
• Usership surpassed 70 million in 2002.
• What had once been a minor irritation to the music and movie industry became a huge problem.
• Metallica and Dr.Dre both filed copyright infringement lawsuits in early 2000.
• By July of 2000, Napster was shut down by an injunction filed by the Recording Industry Association of America. The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals stayed that injunction.
• Napster partnered up with Bertelsmann AG to develop a payment system for artists.
• In 2001, the Appeals court ordered a stop of sharing, but allowed Napster to remain in business.
• Layoffs ensued.
• On June 3, 2002, Napster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Their assets amounted to $7.9 million in cash and $101 million in liabilities.
• Bertelsmann AG bought the company for $8 million and forgave Napster’s $91 million debt.
• Kazaa
• Morpheus
• BearShare
• Gnutella
• LimeWire
• Any P2P file sharing site.

3dfx Interactive

• Started in 1994, 3dfx pioneered the industry in graphic chip developments.
• Their graphics chips—Voodoo especially—became the darling of gamers everywhere and the new industry standard.
• The chips were the first generation of modern-day graphics, accelerating game speeds and rendering.
• As one MIT hardware reviewer put it, “Blood has never looked this good.”
• Delayed products and lackluster reviews crippled sales, prompting layoffs.
• In late 2000, rival Nvidia bought out patents, brand names, and graphics chip inventories for $70 million and $1 million in common stock.
• 3dfx filed for Chapter 11 in October of 2002.
• Modern computer graphics as we know them.
• Advanced shading.
• Realistic texture rendering.
• Detailed lighting effects.
• 3D rendering of complex models in real time.

Bankruptcy's Not All Bad

Bankruptcy has a bad reputation, but it has helped many Americans and many companies get back on their feet.

Check out our report on how bankruptcy helped these businesses (including Continental Airlines and General Motors).

By Bob Negele

The government bailout of American International Group, AIG, was one of the more controversial decisions in recent times.  The long journey is nearing an end as the Treasury Department has announced plans to sell its remaining 234.2 million shares, or roughly 16 percent of the company.  The sale will take place in the form of a public offering.

When the Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, the government acted quickly to help AIG avoid a similar fate.

The New York Times reported that AIG was “an insurance giant that had become deeply intertwined with many Wall Street and European banks through its underwriting of credit-default swaps.  The fear was that a collapse of the company could bring down the global financial system.”

The financial safety net extended to AIG was also given to a number of other financial institutions and companies which were deemed too big to fail.  These companies included General Motors and many in the auto industry.

Many people reacted to the bailouts with frustrations.  Ben Bernake, the Federal Reserve’s chairman and key architect to the plan said, “We had no choice but to try and stabilize the system because of the implications that the failure would have had for the broad economic system.”

At one point the government owned nearly 92 percent of AIG.  Now that number is around 16 percent and after the sale, the government will be completely free of AIG stock.

In order for AIG to emerge from the bailout the company had to undergo significant changes.  AIG was once one of the largest international companies.  And while still massive, it had to reduce its operations in order to improve it marketability.

The article described the reduction of AIG.  Under the bailout, “the insurer [became] much more streamlined.  Shrinking the company to a more manageable size meant disassembling a disparate array of businesses built over decades by Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief.  Enormously valuable operations like the AIA Group and the American Life Insurance Company, two international life insurance units, were spun off or sold to raise cash.”

AIG has continued to sell off assets in order to streamline the company and make it more sustainable and profitable.  Very recently AIG agreed to sell a majority stake in an aircraft leasing operation to Chinese buyers for nearly $4.2 billion.

With the final sale looming, AIG shares are on the rise.  In 2012, AIG's stock has risen 45 percent, an impressive jump for any company.

There are many mixed emotions and feelings about the government becoming this involved in a private company.  And while many people have passionate views on both sides, it seems most people are enthusiastic about the final sale.

Do you ever flip to Bravo and think that these people shouldn't be spending that kind of money in this kind of economy?

Little did they know, many of these real housewives would be spending a considerable portion of their remaining wealth on a bankruptcy attorney.

Embed the infographic above with the HTML below

<a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/blog/real-housewives-file-for-bankruptcy-jzbdg/" target="_blank" title="Real Housewives File For Bankruptcy"><img title="real housewives filing for bankruptcy" src="http://assets.totalbankruptcy.com/infographics/Real-Housewives-File-For-Bankruptcy.png" border="0" alt="bankruptcy and the real housewives"></a> from <a href="http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/" target="_blank" title="www.totalbankruptcy.com">Total Bankruptcy</a>

*Please use the above code unaltered or include a citation of this site as the original source.

Sonja Morgan

Ex-wife of a J.P. Morgan descendent turned "Real Housewife," Sonja has reported that the bankruptcy left her "heartbroken," and that her Upper East Side townhouse means everything to her.

Show:

• New York

Date and Type of Bankruptcy:

• November 17, 2010
• Chapter 11

Owes:

• $19.8 million
• $7 million of that will go to Hannibal Pictures for a film that was supposed to star John Travolta

Assets:

• $13.5 million
• $6 million Upper East Side Townhouse

Income:

• $26,000/month

Leading Causes Behind bankruptcy

• Poor business and money decisions
• Lengthy unsettled divorce

Teresa and Joe Guidice

Two scarily tanned people living way beyond their means.

Show:

• New Jersey

Date and Type of Bankruptcy:

• October 2009
• Chapter 7

Owe:

• $10,853,648.04 (It's that $.04 that will break them)

Income:

• $79,000/year salary
• +$120,000 in "assistance" from family members
• =$199,000

Leading Cause Behind Bankruptcy:

Insanely extravagant spending habits.

• $104,000 in credit debt
• $1,280 monthly payment on a Cadillac Escalade
• $2.6 million on 8 mortgages for 3 homes
• $5.8 million in business investments
• $85,600 for home repairs
• $12,000 for fertility treatments
• $2,300 for their phone bill

Michaele and Tareq Salahi

Infamous for gate crashing at the White House, the Salahis declared bankruptcy in relation to a family winery, and lost a couple of expensive vehicles for it. Several lawsuits are also tied to the couple.

Show:

• Washington, D.C.

Date and Type of Bankruptcy:

• 2009
• Chapter 11

Owe:

• $1 million

Repossessions:

• 2004 Aston Martin - $150,000
• Carver 350 Mariner Boat - $90,000

Leading Cause Behind Bankruptcy:

• Carrying on an extravagant lifestyle while handling a hefty business bankruptcy.

This infographic has been brought to you by Total Bankruptcy.