Dam and Trinh Huynh, 61 and 60 years old in 2008, were born and married in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1995. Neither of them can speak, read, or write English. Dam was in the Army in Vietnam and has no formal education. He has worked various labor jobs since settling in North Dakota and Trinh works as an assembler at Fargo Assembly. Despite the Huynhs' Spartan means, they filed for relief under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in 2007, listing total unsecured debt of over $170,000 owed to 44 creditors! Something was definitely wrong with that picture.
In their amended Statement of Financial Affairs, the couple disclosed gambling losses estimated at $100,000 and 5 transfers, made shortly before they sought Chapter 7 relief in 2007, including cash, jewelry, and gold. They had failed to report these losses and transfers in their original petition. Dam claimed that a majority of his unsecured debt was due to a gambling addiction. He gambled on weekends at area casinos and played blackjack during the week at local establishments, taking numerous cash advances from various credit cards to fund his gambling habit and pay outstanding bills. He thought he would eventually win big and be able to pay back his credit card debt. But other than his candor concerning his addictive behavior during the entirety of the bankruptcy, Dam could not prove his claims: he did not keep any record of his finances, he threw away all of the credit card statements since he could not read or understand English, and the casinos could not corroborate his claims because he only used his rewards cards sporadically.
Now you get to play attorney (or you can read the case for yourself: In re Huynh, 392 BR 802 - Bankruptcy Court, D. North Dakota 2008). Are the Huynhs worthy petitioners for relief under Chapter 7?
In a free consultation, the Frazee Law Group will discern whether you are "worthy petitioners for relief under Chapter 7." Please read Parts II and III to learn more on the Huynh's bankruptcy saga.
