William McHenry is a free man.
Madison County Court Judge Ed Hannan incarcerated McHenry on April 22 for contempt of court. Wells Fargo had foreclosed on his home and sold the property to Daniel Johnson this year. A notice requiring McHenry and his wife to vacate the premises by January 22 was placed on the door. However, the McHenrys did not move so Mr. Johnson sued to evict the couple.
The defendants did not move so Mr. Johnson asked Judge Hannan to hold them in contempt of court. The Court held William McHenry in contempt and ordered his arrest while issuing a show cause order for his wife. The Court decreed:
The Defendant controls his own destiny. He holds the keys to his own freedom; he holds the keys to the jailhouse door. The Defendant must vacate the property and so inform the Court in writing that he has vacated the property at issue. The Court has provided the Defendant with a sheet of paper whereby he can write that he has vacated the property and inform the Court of same. Once Defendant has done so, he will have purged himself of contempt. If not, Defendant shall remain in thecustody of the Sheriff of Madison County until further order of this Court.
Mr. McHenry finally obeyed the court and wrote on a sheet of paper that he and his wife had vacated the premises. It is not known if there was a paragraph on the back of the paper. The contempt purged, McHenry was set free on May 2.
This is not the first time McHenry has been in trouble with the law. A federal grand jury indicted McHenry in 2019 for securities and wire fraud in the Lamar Adams case. A jury acquitted him after a trial in December 2019. Earlier post.
The docket in Mills v. Billings et al stated on September 25:
Motion Hearing held on 9/25/2023. APPEARANCES: Brent Barriere (Plaintiff's counsel); Abby Brumley Edwards and Kimberly Gore (Defense counsel), William B. McHenry (Defendant). The Court GRANTED [124] MOTION for Contempt against William B. McHenry, Jr. filed by Alysson Mills. Exhibits admitted for the purpose of the hearing: P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4, P-5, P-6, P-7. The Defendant was ordered to pay $31,450.00 to the Receiver and shall have until 5:00 PM to report to Madison County Detention Facility. The Defendant shall remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service until the amount is paid in full.
Mills filed her motion for contempt on March 22 in U.S. District Court. The motion states McHenry filed bankruptcy in 2020 and listed the Receiver as a creditor. Mills had obtained a judgment against McHenry for $3,473,320 in the Lamar Adams case.
Mills objected to the bankruptcy, arguing he lied in his bankruptcy filings. The Receiver "examined" the defendant under oath at a debtor's exam in 2021. McHenry did not provide all of the records request and "could not identify the source of any deposit into his bank accounts and could not explain how he covers his monthly expenses."
The motion states:
For years, Bill McHenry has disposed or hidden assets and made his finances impossible to be scrutinized. The assets that McHenry sold or hid over the past four years emanate from the same source: proceeds of the Madison Timber Ponzi scheme. Indisputably, McHenry had no source of income other than Madison Timber commissions to purchase any assets.11 Those assets should have been turned over to the Receivership Estate to satisfy the final judgment for the benefit of Madison Timber’s victims. Instead, McHenry has engaged in a years-long campaign to evade enforcement of the judgment.
McHenry purged the contempt by paying $31,450 to the Receiver as ordered by the Court.
21 comments:
Just another guy who thinks he's smarter than the average bear.
America does in fact have debtors prison. Who knew?
Who is Daniel Johnson? some we buy house/landlord/house flipping guy?
Methinks McHenry and Gilmer are pictured together in the same psychology handbook. One might wonder if they roomed together at the Randy Tucker Hotel.
"McHenry purged the contempt by paying $31,450 to the Receiver as ordered by the Court."
Give me several million dollars and I'll pay a thirty one thousand dollar finder's fee any day of the week.
@9:59 - How the WELL do you get debtor's prison from a 'failure to vacate' judicial order?
Were there circles and arrows on the front? He had time to just sit on the bench and play with the pencils tho.
Debtor's prison? Wasn't his house. Refused to leave.
Arrogance is the greate
st equalizer.
Interesting Mr. Johnson bought the property on January 22, 2024 and was able to have previous owner William McHenry removed from the premises so soon, even jailed.
In another case, public records indicate Trustmark foreclosed on a Madison County home on August 16, 2023.
Public records indicate the buyer paid Trustmark the amount Trustmark requested via Trustmark’s foreclosure attorney.
Allegedly, the home remains occupied by its original owners that were foreclosed on.
Allegedly the original owners have sued Trustmark.
Allegedly, the buyer having paid Trustmark the amount Trustmark requested via Trustmark’s foreclosure attorney, will be losing money.
Almost sounds like more good lawyer knows the law, great lawyer knows the judge stories.
Great reporting
Does Mississippi have a Pauper's Fund to pay the exorbitant relocation expenses of a (once) wealthy guy who is forced to un-squat a property?
For a broke-assed county inmate, reportedly with no funds, he managed to move all his household goods rather quickly.
Did I mention an earlier bankruptcy?
10:55-Group W bench maybe?
There must be more to this case than is shown here. I read the case file on line. This was a suit for "Unlawful Entry and Detainer'. I see where there was a 'writ of removal' issued but no return from the Sheriff after serving it on the defendants.
Generally, the Plaintiff's attorney prepares the 'writ of removal' and attaches the judgment and gets the Circuit Clerk to issue the writ. The next step is to take the 'writ of removal' to the Sheriff's office and ask for it to be served. The Sheriff's deputy will go to the house in a few days and personally hand it to the defendant(s) and give them 72 hours to vacate.
If the defendant(s) do not vacate, the Sheriff's deputy will return along with the necessary labor provided by the Plaintiff to remove the person and all personal property from the residence. The Sheriff's Deputy is there to keep the peace. I noticed that the Plaintiff's attorney didn't include the necessary terminology regarding abandoned property becoming the property of the Plaintiff if the Defendant fails to empty the premises by the day and time that the Sheriff's deputy gives to them.
So, what's the whole story that caused the Defendant to be jailed?
9:29 PM for the win.
What's the whole story that caused the Defendant to be jailed?
Make no mistake: debtors prison is alive and well in Mississippi. However, this is not the case here.
@9:29 and 6:29 - Suppose you finish your cereal, collect your wits, and connect all the dots you've been provided and figure it out...then report back.
You have no way of knowing whether all that you outlined was followed or not. But your recitation of protocol is noted.
A better question for you both is: How does a broke, bankrupt, 77-year-old, mysteriously, keep coming up funds?
1:08
How in the world are the occupants living in the house after being foreclosed on in August of last year?
Why do people think they can live in houses without paying for them?
Why is Trustmark being sued for executing on a Deed of Trust?
Good questions 11:31.
Allegedly, public records indicate the “Chancery Lawsuit” was filed on January 10, 2024.
More to come on this one.
So, to recap:
If court process is slow, you bitch and question the process.
If court process is fast, you bitch and question the process.
12:13 AM, don’t confuse morals with the law as they are not the same since money & power will get you a different result than those without.
While the vast majority of attorneys are good, The Fall of the House of Zeus and Kings of Tort taught us how some are extremely corrupt, do not represent their client, etc.
And 2008 taught us how ruthless and corrupt banks can be.
Question for the honest Esquires: hypothetically, does “release from any and all claims” and “strictly confidential” language in an agreement prevent a wronged party from filing complaints with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Attorney General, the BAR, etc., after signing said agreement?
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