A Spokane Valley real estate investor has filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court here, claiming primarily business debts totaling $8.2 million. The voluntary filing, by Francis "Bart" Bertholic, lists personal property assets of $11,900.

The filing lists Bertholic's businesses as BB&A Properties Inc., Pacific NW Housing Solutions Inc., and SSB Partners LLC, and First Liberty Financial Inc., all located at 1225 N. Argonne Road, in Spokane Valley. The filing also lists a number of BB&A-affiliated limited liability corporations, which it says own or have purchase options on 36 residential properties in the Spokane area, including single-family homes, apartments, and condominium units.

The Web site for BB&A properties describes the company as a real estate specialty company, advertising $1,000-down and rent-to-own programs. Dan O'Rourke, Bertholic's bankruptcy attorney, says Bertholic plans to continue operating his businesses, and to continue making payments to the lien holders on all of the listed properties, which O'Rourke says aren't owned solely by Bertholic, but by the various BB&A limited liability companies.

"He's reaffirming or retaining those properties subject to the lien claims," O'Rourke says.

Nearly all of the properties identified are listed as having mortgage liens equal to or exceeding the stated market value of the property. The total market value of the properties is listed as about $6.6 million, with total mortgage liens of about $6.9 million on the properties, the filing shows.

They are listed in the filing as liabilities because Bertholic is the managing partner in the BB&A companies that have ownership interests or options in the properties, O'Rourke says.

Bertholic is using the filing as a way to restructure his business, O'Rourke says. Bertholic plans to continue to operate his businesses, but had some unsecured debt, including business leases and subleases that he needed to have discharged, O'Rourke says.

The filing lists no creditors with secured claims, and the largest single unsecured claims are for $650,000, made by a Moses Lake, Wash., couple, and $435,000 made by a Dalton Gardens, Idaho, couple. Many of the creditors listed are individuals or couples.

Between 2002 and 2007, Bertholic owned First Liberty Financial Inc., an insurance and securities sales business, the filing says. A company named First Liberty Financial Services Inc., registered under Bertholic's name, has a current registration with Washington state that expires at the end of this month.

In December of 2006, the Washington state Department of Financial Institutions Securities Division filed an administrative statement of charges and intent to sanction Francis "Bart" Bertholic Jr., First Liberty Financial Services, and five of the BB&A LLCs listed in the bankruptcy filing, claiming that through those entities and a through a business named Bart Bertholic & Associates, he had made money by offering and selling unregistered stock and promissory notes. That case hasn't been settled or sent to a hearing yet, but the Department of Financial Institutions is listed in the bankruptcy filing as one of the creditors, with a debt in the amount of $301,500, which matches the total proposed fines and costs listed in the statement of charges, says Tyler Letey, an enforcement attorney with the department.