Former landlord Miell wants everybody else investigated

Former Cedar Rapids landlord Bob Miell wants to have virtually everyone involved in administering his bankruptcy case investigated.

Miell, fresh off a fraud conviction, has been spending his time in prison filing handwritten pro-se legal motions.

In one 24-page document filed on Friday, he objects to the sale of 31 of his rental properties  by the bankruptcy case trustee, attorney Renee Hanrahan.

Miell says the 31 properties are advertised at $4.26 million, but have a fair market value of $5.3 million. He accuses Hanrahan and Janet Reasoner, assistant U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee, of "numerous intentional acts to destroy Robert Miell's estate in order to create abandoned properties in order to then be able to liquidate Robert Miell's estate."

Selling property below fair market value is common and accepted in bankruptcy liquidation cases, as long as the proper legal procedures are followed.

Miell objects to "bad faith" actions by not only Hanrahan and Reasoner, but also claims American Family Insurance, the company he was accused of defrauding, and Guaranty Bank and Trust, which held mortgages on some of his 460-plus properties, acted in bad faith by consenting to the sales.

Miell originally filed his bankruptcy case as a Chapter 11 (financial reorganization) case in order to protect his rental properties from foreclosure by creditors. The case was subsequently converted to a Chapter 7 (liquidation) case by Judge Paul Kilburg in response to motions filed by some of his creditors and U.S. Trustee Habbo Fokkena.

It is unclear whether the court will consider the pro-se motions, since Miell already has an attorney of record in the case. He seeks an independent committee to investigate his bankruptcy case, and investigations by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the U.S. Office of Professional Responsibility, and U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett.

Pro-se motions filed by Miell recently in his criminal fraud case have already been rejected by the court.