Attorney says Chattanooga developer Allen Casey treated property 'like a piggy bank'

photo A dilapidated former restaurant barge, purchased by Allen Casey, is docked at his property on the North Shore of the Tennessee River.

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.

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