Drowning In Debt! ‘Below Deck’ Star Captain Lee Files For Bankruptcy
Below Deck’s Captain Lee Rosbach who charters yachts for the wealthy files for bankruptcy
Captain Lee Rosbach, star of Bravo’s reality show Below Deck, has filed for bankruptcy.
The 67-year-old sailor submitted legal documents March 6, according to RadarOnline, stating he has between $100,001 to $500,000 in debt.
The paperwork explains it’s mostly consumer debt and that there about 49 creditors he owes money to.
Meanwhile, filming recently wrapped on a fifth season of Below Deck that was shot in Saint Martin, in the Caribbean.
The series follows Rosbach, who provides yachts to the rich and famous, as he and his crew cater to their very well-heeled clients.
Seeking Chapter 13 protection: The 67-year-old submitted legal documents stating he has between $100,001 to $500,000 in debt and that there about 49 creditors he owes money to
Life on the ocean waves: The Bravo reality series follows Rosbach and his crew as they cater to the needs of the rich and famous who charter their yacht
Below Deck’ Star Captain Lee Was the Victim of Brazen Bankruptcy Fraud Scheme
“Below Deck” star Captain Lee Rosbach was once the victim of a brazen bankruptcy fraud scheme. Someone filed for bankruptcy in Georgia federal court in his name, while he was out at sea, and it led to some unfortunate headlines for the Bravo TV star. The case was eventually cleared up, but court documents obtained by Heavy show what actually happened.
Rosbach said in an affidavit filed in 2017, which can be read here, that he was made aware of the fraudulent filing in his name when someone called him to say there were articles on the internet claiming he had filed for bankruptcy. Rosbach said in his affidavit that he didn’t file the bankruptcy documents and he didn’t authorize anyone else to do so either.
The fake bankruptcy filing claimed Rosbach owed between 1 to 49 creditors an amount between $100,001 and $500,000. According to the court documents, the bankruptcy case was eventually closed, while an investigation was launched into who actually made the filing. It does not appear that the probe into the fake bankruptcy case ever led to federal charges against anyone.
One of the Two Men Investigated by Federal Officials in the Fraudulent Bankruptcy Filing Was Later Arrested in a $600,000 Fraud Case
The fake Chapter 13 voluntary bankruptcy filing was made in the Northern District of Georgia on March 6, 2017, according to court records obtained by Heavy. The filing uses Captain Rosbach’s full name, Harold Lee Rosbach, and lists the Bravo star as living at a Decatur, Georgia, home where he and his attorneys later say he hadn’t lived for several years.
The filing also used an incorrect Social Security number, according to court documents. The bankruptcy filing even included a notarized document that included Rosbach’s forged signature. The document was alleged to have been signed by Rosbach in front of a notary on March 6, 2017, at a time when Rosbach said he was actually working, according to court records.
The filing didn’t include several necessary documents, including financial statements, lists of assets and liabilities and the names creditors, those who were supposedly owed money. Just days after the documents were filed, the trustee’s office, which oversees bankruptcy cases, began realizing something was wrong, records show.
Georgia federal courtAn excerpt from the bankruptcy case.
Guy Gebhardt, then the acting U.S. Trustee for the region, launched an investigation, according to court documents. Gebhardt wrote in a court filing, “The United States Trustee believes that Mr. Rosbach did not authorize the bankruptcy filing and that the voluntary petition was completed, signed, and filed with the Court without Mr. Rosbach’s knowledge or consent. … The United States Trustee has reason to believe that the voluntary petition had been submitted for filing to the Clerk of Court by Maurice Clarence Jeffries.” Gebhardt sought to question Jeffries in connection to the case.
Gebhardt also sought to question another man, Edward Tinsley, who had notarized a document that had a fraudulent version of Rosbach’s signature on it, court records show. “The voluntary petition is accompanied by a Pro Se Affidavit purportedly signed by Mr. Rosbach. [Docket No. 3]. The Pro Se Affidavit shows that it was notarized by Edward Tinsley,” Gebhardt wrote. “The United States Trustee considers it necessary and appropriate to investigate the circumstances surrounding the preparation and filing of the voluntary petition and therefore believes it is necessary to conduct an examination of Edward Tinsley pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2004.”
Tinsley and Jeffries were called in for interviews in April 2017. In May, Gebhardt filed a motion confirming that Rosbach did not file for bankruptcy. “The United States Trustee believes that someone filed the voluntary petition in the name of Harold Lee Rosbach for purposes of invoking the automatic stay in order to prevent the foreclosure of real property located at 2823 Fairoaks Road, Decatur, Georgia 30033. While Mr. Rosbach is the title owner of the Fairoaks Road property he has not resided in the property for several years,” Gebhardt wrote.
