A concerned citizen shared this fact with my campaign.
Few people realize he filed for bankruptcy.
When asked specifically on a candidate survey if he had a bankruptcy he refused to answer. Instead, he answered a different question. This is a telling moment regarding his character. I’ll explain that part later, but let’s get to the facts of what his bankruptcy appears to have done to several women.
Should everyone be disqualified from office because of a bankruptcy?
No.
Are there reasons behind a bankruptcy that maybe should disqualify a candidate? YES.
You see, every bankruptcy has a story. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. The three big reasons for bankruptcy are job loss, medical bills and divorce. I know because my company deals with bankruptcies.
They can wreak havoc on a person’s finances, and there’s good reason at times to use bankruptcy law, which I'm fine with. These good people should have an opportunity to recover from events outside their control. But there is a fourth category…and it’s used by a different type of person.
Sometimes unqualified people are given loans who should never have them and – as a consequence – hurt good people. Fillios’ bankruptcy, from what it appears, is one of those stories.
Let me start off by saying the bankruptcy was a while ago. But it's important to remember that Fillios was an adult in his forties and what was done to these women (if it happened this way) is telling.
A close look at Fillios’ bankruptcy reveals that he owed 30 creditors $238,109.14. From what it looks like there were personal guarantees given on a wedding business he and his wife started called Boutique on the Mall. Instead of trying to reorganize the debt under bankruptcy law, he was seeking to liquidate his debt completely, which means the people he owed money to would never get paid.
Did Fillios Stiff a Customer Out of $30?
What struck me about this bankruptcy when I looked at his creditor list were the large number of people he owed small amounts of money to. It appears he stiffed (presumably) his customers.
For example, Fillios’ bankruptcy revealed he owed Ms. Susan G. a paltry $177.00. But that wasn’t the worst one. Chris Fillios listed Ms. Lisa G. as a creditor and owed her only $30.00.
$30? I’m having a tough time trying to distinguish between Fillios’ actions with his company and those of my former employer. They both filed liquidation bankruptcy and they both appeared to have stiffed their customers.
Fillios goes out of his way to link me to that company...the one I resigned from five years before it filed bankruptcy. It's laughable. Frankly, the only difference between what Fillios appears to have done and BlueHippo was by the scale of the number of customers who never received their money back.
Are These The Would-Be-Brides Chris Owed Money To?
I understand that $150,000 bank loans might be too much to repay. Fillios had several bank loans and corporate payables that added up to over $200k.
But when you look at the number of individual women he listed as his creditors – women I presume were his customers and using his company for their weddings – it paints an unflattering picture of Mr. Fillios. Here’s that list of women victims:
Lisa G. $ 30.00
Dianna M. $350.00
Dianna P. $350.00
June B. $350.00
Brenda D. $350.00
Bonnie B. $225.00
Susan G. $177.00
If these were his customers and he attempted to write off their deposits in his liquidation bankruptcy, then this is troubling. In my opinion these women deserved to have their money returned, given that these funds were presumably to be used toward their weddings.
I find it interesting how my opponent accuses me of malfeasance without any proof. Yet here’s proof of his own. It's also interesting how he left New Hampshire for Idaho during all of this. Was this a case of him running from that community?
Why Candidates Should Be Vetted
There’s been a lot of criticism of groups attempting to vet candidates. I personally think it’s a good thing. Voters should be able to get as good of a picture of candidates as they can possibly be given.
When the local Republican Central Committee distributed questionnaires to candidates, one of the questions asked was if the candidate had any bankruptcies. Below is my answer to the question and Fillios'.
9. Do you have any history of tax liens, criminal record, bankruptcy or conflict of interest that may affect your future decisions or desirability to be voted into office?
Mattare: No.
Fillios: I do not have any financial or criminal burdens that would inhibit my ability to hold public office.
What else is he hiding with an answer like that?
It’s time for Chris Fillios to go.
Here are the details of his bankruptcy. Everything in here is public record and can be found using public record resources.
My Experience with Bankruptcies
My company deals with bankruptcies frequently and I used to write about personal finance professionally. We also deal with people who know they’re going to file bankruptcy and so they find ways to load up debt (for companies it can include accepting customer deposits), so they can use bankruptcy law to avoid paying their bills.