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Dallas • Samuel Wyly, one-time owner of the Michaels arts-and-crafts store chain, is filing for bankruptcy protection as he and the estate of his brother face up to $400 million in penalties after being found liable for hiding stock holdings overseas.
The prominent Dallas businessman filed a bankruptcy petition in federal district court in Dallas on Sunday. He says his biggest liabilities are to the IRS — the amount is unknown — and $198 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A judge in New York ruled last month that Wyly and the estate of his brother, Charles, must surrender up to $400 million after a civil jury found they had engaged in a 13-year fraud that involved creating a web of trusts and subsidiaries to hide assets overseas.