How to be a successful businessman

              Bob Uptown was a successful businessman who had recently made his first million. He wanted to celebrate and enjoy his success, so he purchased a historic mansion complete with its heirloom furnishings. Bob lived well for about a year, but suddenly business wasn’t as lucrative, the business closed, and Bob’s debts got out of control. He sought to save what he could and protect his family by filing Chapter 13 to attempt to diminish his personal debts. Bob decided that he could sell the furnishings and some of his wife’s expensive jewelry for far more than for what the Court Appointed Trustee valued the items, so he contacted some local businesses, selling the jewelry and the home’s contents without knowledge of the Court and without turning the newly received funds over to the creditors. The creditors realized that quite a great deal of the inventoried contents of the home were missing and demanded that Bob disclose their whereabouts. At this time Bob confessed to the sales but stated that he no longer had any of the funds from their sale. The creditors contacted Local Antiques, the purchaser of the furnishings, and Downtown Jewelry, the purchaser of the jewelry, demanding the items or the equivalent market value.   •Local Antiques and Downtown Jewelry had sold most of the items at this point. •Bankruptcy Court determined that the transfer from Bob to the Companies was theft because Bob no longer “owned” the items, they were the property of the Creditors to be sold in an attempt torepay Bob’s debts. Consider the following when you create your discussion post: •In this scenario was Bob at fault for not disclosing his Bankruptcy status or were Local Antiques and Downtown Jewelry at fault for not appropriately determining the ownership status of the items? •If you were representing Local Antiques, a small, family owned business, what do you suggest they do to remedy the situation?