A federal bankruptcy court has dismissed a bankruptcy case filed by former KGO Radio host Ronn Owens and his wife after scrutinizing a GoFundMe account that sought donations on account of the broadcaster’s cancer diagnosis.
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Madeleine Wanslee ruled on the case earlier this month, barring Owens and his wife, Elizabeth Naylor, from filing a new bankruptcy action for at least the next two years.
The order came after the U.S. Trustee Program in Phoenix examined more than 18 months of financial records from Owens and Naylor, including more than $130,000 in cash donations made to a GoFundMeA account that were moved to a bank deposit account held by Bank of America.
The Trustee found that the money was initially solicited on the implication that it would be used to fund Owens’ medical bills related to a cancer diagnosis, but spending across the financial accounts strongly indicates the money was used for other purposes, including paying down personal debts related to a mortgage and discretionary credit card spending.
Owens and Naylor never specifically in their campaign that any funds collected from GoFundMe would be used in connection with the broadcaster’s medical treatment, according to screen shots of the original campaign viewed by The Desk. But the campaign made numerous references to the cancer diagnosis and said his medical debt had ballooned.
GoFundMe ultimately paid Owens and Nayor $132,480 from donations received through the campaign, court filings showed. After the money was deposited, the two used around $17,000 to pay medical-related bills. It wasn’t clear if those financial obligations were related to any treatment for cancer.
The bulk of their spending — $118,898 — were for unrelated reasons, the U.S. Trustee found. More than $61,600 was spent on mortgage payments, while nearly $44,400 was made in capital contributions to various companies owned by Owens. Other expenses include travel, subscriptions and giving cash to their child, which totaled thousands of dollars in discretionary, non-medical spending.
Owens and Naylor filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection last year, later converting the case into a Chapter 11 action. Jennifer Giamio, an attorney for the U.S. Trustee, was ultimately brought in to determine the validity of the case and whether it should be dismissed or converted into a Chapter 7 action.
Earlier this month, Giamio said the case should be dismissed on account of the bank and GoFundMe records when evaluated alongside the couple’s current financial state. She also said the pair should be prohibited from filing another bankruptcy case for at least two years.
The court agreed that dismissal was appropriate. Wanslee said the record showed the debtors could not satisfy Chapter 11 obligations and had no reasonable likelihood of a successful reorganization. The judge also cited “significant failures” to comply with Chapter 11 requirements and said the record reflected “multiple errors, misstatements, and possible misrepresentations,” including changes to sworn statements regarding the ownership of the home where Owens and Naylor reside.
Naylor, who is erroneously cited in one court filing as “Ms. Owens,” agreed with the two-year ban but disputed the notion that the sworn testimony or documents showed any malfeasance with respect to their bankruptcy. Naylor said she was grateful for the GoFundMe donations and worked diligently with the court in the interest of transparency, court records show.
The judge overseeing the case said GoFundMe donors are free to take actions against Owens and Naylor in state court, and collection efforts from creditors can resume.
Owens worked for Cumulus-owned KGO (810 AM) for more than four decades. His daily show ended in favor of a 10-minute segment in 2018. Cumulus is in the process of emerging from its own separate, unrelated bankruptcy case.
