Chapter 7 - Solutions for a Financial Crisis » Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

A Florida man who built a fortune dealing in gold and rare coins will now see most of his exquisite collection sold off.

The Tamp Tribune reports that a judge converted National Gold Exchange’s chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

This ruling likely signals the end for National Gold, a company Tampa businessman Mark Yaffe built into the one of the country’s largest gold and rare coin dealers.

Yaffe originally took his company into chapter bankruptcy after Sovereign Bank, National Gold’s chief creditor, discovered irregular business practices by the company.

An investigation by the bank revealed that Yaffe had been using company funds to pay for his opulent mansion in the high-end Avila community of Florida. The bank also discovered missing coins and bad accounting books.

At this time the bank began repossessing many of the company’s assets, such as rare coins and gold, which were central to its operation. Yaffe took the company into bankruptcy with the hope of protecting the coins as well as his personal fortune.

But with a judge forcing him to file chapter 7 bankruptcy, most of these assets will be sold.

Among the assets are an estimated $5 million in rare coins and a Yaffe’s 29,000-square-foot mansion.

That home is stocked with an estimated $7 million worth of antique music boxes. Collecting the items was a personal hobby of Yaffe’s, but now they may all be sold, reports the Tampa Tribune.

Despite the setbacks, Yaffe’s representatives said he hopes to remain in the coin and gold dealing business, and is already looking at acquiring loans from family members to start a new company.