Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1998 18:11:12 -0500 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Reply-To: Darrell128@aol.com Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 98132: IRM Hardship Cases Get a Christmas Gift: Wealthy Investors Establish Hardship Foundation NR #1998-132: IRM Hardship Cases Get a Christmas Gift: Wealthy IRM Investors Establish Hardship Foundation to Relieve Victims of $228 Million Real Estate Investment Bankruptcy One week before Christmas, the checks are on the way to a number of victims of the IRM real estate investment debacle, which placed $228 million of investments by 1537 individuals, denominational agencies, and Christian organizations - most but not all members of or affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church - at risk of total loss. According to the spokesman for a new hardship assistance fund, the checks were written on December 18 and will be mailed later today. About a third of the IRM investors - around 500 individuals and organizations - are in the West Michigan heartland of the Christian Reformed Church. Many of the rest are in the California area where the IRM real estate corporation was headquartered, but virtually every region in the United States where the CRC has a significant membership has at least a few investors. Many of the larger investors were upset when IRM suspended payments and then declared bankruptcy, but didn't face disastrous financial consequences. However, a number of the smaller investors are retired ministers, widows, or others on fixed incomes, and some relied upon the interest payments from IRM for daily needs. None of the IRM investors have received payments since October 1997. Nevertheless, the largest individual investor, Jay Mol in the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, has banded together with a number of other investors to organize the "Hardship Assistance Fund" to provide relief to needy investors. The fund plans to make its first disbursements on December 18, just in time for Christmas. IRM Hardship Cases Get a Christmas Gift: Wealthy IRM Investors Establish Hardship Foundation to Relieve Victims of $228 Million Real Estate Investment Bankruptcy by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (December 18, 1998) URNS - One week before Christmas, the checks are on the way to a number of victims of the IRM real estate investment debacle, which placed $228 million of investments by 1537 individuals, denominational agencies, and Christian organizations - most but not all members of or affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church - at risk of total loss. According to the spokesman for a new hardship assistance fund, the checks were written on December 18 and will be mailed later today. About a third of the IRM investors - around 500 individuals and organizations - are in the West Michigan heartland of the Christian Reformed Church. Many of the rest are in the California area where the IRM real estate corporation was headquartered, but virtually every region in the United States where the CRC has a significant membership has at least a few investors. Many of the larger investors were upset when IRM suspended payments and then declared bankruptcy, but didn't face disastrous financial consequences. However, a number of the smaller investors are retired ministers, widows, or others on fixed incomes, and some relied upon the interest payments from IRM for daily needs. None of the IRM investors have received payments since October 1997. Nevertheless, the largest individual investor, Jay Mol in the Grand Rapids suburb of Jenison, has banded together with a number of other investors to organize the "Hardship Assistance Fund" to provide relief to needy investors. The fund plans to make its first disbursements on December 18, just in time for Christmas. "The fund exists to care for those who have been dramatically hurt by this sudden loss," said Mol. "It's pretty difficult to cover every base with it, it's just a genuine desire to help people who are in trouble." Mol's interest in IRM goes beyond simple philanthropy. Currently chairman of the IRM Creditors Committee, an official committee of investors and creditors appointed by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California to assist in supervising the bankruptcy process, Mol was also a leading member of an original out-of-court committee that tried to solve the IRM problem apart from bankruptcy and the Concerned IRM Investors, a committee dissatisfied with the way the Christian Reformed denominational agencies were handling the IRM settlement process. "When you've been firsthand dealing with these hardship cases as some of us have, it doesn't take a whole lot of time to get very sympathetic to these people, because they're hurting," said Mol. "Basically this group has felt that if the Lord has blessed us, even if we may have suffered loss ourselves, if we still want to be good stewards this is what He wants us to do." Mol said that the committee has received approximately sixty applications so far. "We've put the people into three classes," said Mol. "The first is those who are unable to meet their current day-to-day financial needs. The second group is those who can meet them but have had to dramatically alter their lifestyle in order to do so. The third category is those who can meet them but have had to moderately adjust their lifestyle." "The biggest job we have to do is to put them in their proper category and deal with them on a priority basis," said Mol. "The number of those who are in the number one category are those we definitely want to take care of first. There is a lot of need out there that is not as desperate as some of these are." Mol said he estimated it would take six months to two years to solve the IRM crisis, now that it has reached bankruptcy court. "Because of the complexity of the 130 different entities intertwined the way they are and the requirement to give full disclosure, getting the accurate accounting information has slowed us down and all of that has to be accomplished before we can really move ahead on firm ground," said Mol. "One thing we have learned as we've gone along is once things are in the court system they take much longer than we'd like them to go," said Mol. In the meantime, Mol said the Hardship Assistance Fund will focus on trying to help IRM investors who need assistance. The fund currently has approximately a dozen board members and major investors, and is applying for federally-recognized nonprofit 501(c)3 status. Mol noted that the fund isn't trying to buy out the smaller investors' stake in IRM. "Since we are a nonprofit we are not, as some people are already typing to spread, buying back people's interests; we are not doing anything at all of that type," said Mol. "What they receive from us is a pure gift and does not need to be repaid." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1998-006: Classis Chatham asks Top Christian Reformed Administrative Committee to Appoint Independent Investigators of $11.5 Million in Questionable Investments #1998-028: Classis Lake Erie Overtures Christian Reformed Synod to "Ensure the Editorial Freedom of the Banner" #1998-067: IRM Debate Extends Synodical Session #1998-068: Synod Responds to Possible Multimillion Dollar Fund Loss #1998-080: IRM Investment Debacle Leads to Litigation; Estimate of Funds at Risk Balloons from $11.4 to $228 Million #1998-083: IRM Declares Bankruptcy; CRC Files More Litigation Seeking Removal of IRM Management #1998-084: Bankruptcy Court Postpones Action on CRC Lawsuit to Remove IRM Management; "Concerned IRM Investors" Leader to Chair New Investors/Creditors Committee #1998-091: IRM Management Resigns as General Partners; John Barnard to Become CEO of Troubled California Real Estate Firm #1998-103: A Glimmer of Good News: Home Missions May Receive Partial Payment on $1.1 Million of $7.925 Million Invested in IRM California Real Estate Corporation #1998-104: San Francisco IRM Investor Files $45 Million Suit Against Attorneys Retained by CRC Agencies and Individual Investors #1998-109: Bankruptcy Court Appoints New CEO for IRM; Plans Announced to Drop Christian Reformed-Led Lawsuit #1998-114: Eenhoorn Announces November 15 Deadline; Paul Heule Expects to Withdraw Offer to Purchase IRM Assets #1998-115: Christian Reformed Officials Explain Lawsuit Against IRM Contact List: Dr. Peter Borgdorff, Executive Director of Ministries, Christian Reformed Church 2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560 O: (616) 246-0832 * H: (616) 957-3288 * E-Mail: borgdorp@crcna.org IRM Corporation Office: 2151 Salvio St., Suite 325, Concord CA 94520 Mailing: PO Box 3000, Concord, CA 94522-3000 O: (925) 676-1966 * FAX: (925) 676-1744 Jay Mol, Chairman, IRM Creditors Committee O: (616) 669-8960 * FAX: (616) 669-5368 * E-Mail: jcmol@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive98: nr98-132.txt .