An attorney today accused Chattanooga developer Allen Casey and his company of defrauding people related to a tract of riverfront land and running "like a Ponzi scheme."
Gary Patrick, a lawyer for several parties suing Casey and River City Resort, said there is about $6 million to $7 million in money generated from transactions and deals related to the land for which there is no accounting.
"He treated the property like a piggy bank," he said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chattanooga during a hearing.
However, a former attorney for Casey, said he disagreed with Patrick over "about everything that was said."
"I don't know where the proof comes from that Casey took $7 million out of the property," said David Moss.
Casey's company, facing a lawsuit from investors, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
David Fulton, an attorney for Casey's company, said he wants the bankruptcy case heard before a civil trial goes forward in Hamilton County Chancery Court.
The property located off Manufacturers Road is across the Tennessee River from the Tennessee Aquarium. A rundown barge moored to the tract, which Casey wants to turn into a restaurant, has drawn fire from citizens.
See more in Wednesday's Times Free Press.