European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday june 24, 1990the stars and stripes a a a Page 13 Dollar watch Randy Mcclain done to give up land lawyer tells clients Doug Lyons did no to Start out knowing a lot about the . Bankruptcy code but after three months of being deeply involved in Florida a biggest bankruptcy Case m history he a learning. Lyons who practices Law in Miami started out simply As one of Many attorneys filing suit against the giant Florida real estate company general development corp., As allegations of a massive land fraud orchestrated by the company grew Early this year. Those charges culminated in a Federal grand jury indictment for conspiracy to commit mail fraud against the firm and guilty pleas by the company Stop two executives. Both men subsequently resigned. Today almost four months after the guilty pleas Lyons finds himself representing approximately 70,000 property owners fighting for a fair shake in . Bankruptcy court where gds has landed in a last ditch Effort to get its financial House in order. Lyons Job is to make sense of the voluminous piles of paper produced by a chapter 11 bankruptcy Case in which More than 200,000 individuals and businesses Are claiming gds owes them Money. A 2-Inch stack of documents gets filed in court every Day. A More important part of Lyons Job though is to see that his clients get what they paid for. For most of them Middle income americans who crimped and saved to buy land that Means delivery of a residential lot in sunny Florida where they can build a Home one Day. Go cd a ability to deliver those lots is far from certain because of its huge debts. But Lyons is advising gds customers including . Serv ice members in Europe who bought property from the company not to give up. His advice is to stake a claim in . Bankruptcy court either through his Law firm or another one familiar with the Case. A the judge in the bankruptcy Case Here seems committed to getting people improved lots a Lyons said adding that the method by which gds would finance Road construction installation of sewer lines and electric services in communities where such amenities Are still lacking is up in the air. One thing Lyons strongly advises against is try ing to collect from gds outside bankruptcy court at least at this stage of the game. All other lawsuits against gds were automatically put on hold when the company filed for bankruptcy Lyons said and other lawyers or promoters claiming they can help win damages from the firm via far Flung lawsuits in other parts of the country May be making promises they can to keep. Lyons is hopeful that people who have been making monthly payments on lots will actually get property they can use at some Point but he remains sceptical that anything will be done to reimburse lot owners for the wildly inflated prices gds allegedly charged. One other Ace up Lyons sleeve is a plan to file suit against Oxford finance a Philadelphia firm that bought hundreds of lot contracts from a desperate gds last year As the company scrambled to raise Cash. Oxford has contracts for some lots on which americans in West Germany Are still paying. Lyons said he intends to allege that the prices charged by gds were fraudulently High and that get Ord has no right to insist that customers pay the Lull sales Price in order to get the deed to their Home Sites. Lyons like other lawyers wont offer much More advice than this free of charge. But service members can reach him at the following address 33131 Lyons 1401 Brickell ave., Miami Fla. The stars and Stripe business news despite gds promises Fate of building lots still up in air by Randy Mcclain financial writer three months after entering chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings general development corp. Of Miami says it s moving closer to unveiling a plan to deliver usable residential lots to All its paying customers. A we Hope to present our program to the bankruptcy court in july a said Otis Wragg spokesman for the financially strapped company. A a we re trying to move ahead at our Best Speed but we still have a lot of work to do to restore Peoples  among those keeping a close Eye on go cd a Progress Are several Hundred . Service members in Europe who plunked Down Cash to buy real estate in Florida from the company a overseas sales representatives. Virtually All the service members bought undeveloped lots with the idea of one Day building a retirement Home on their land. Many Are paying for their land through time payment plans. The Purchase contracts generally Promise that building Sites will be made ready for Home construction within 10 to 12 years but the company a deteriorating financial position Calls into question whether gds Ever will have the Cash to meet its obligations. Gds has sold property to soldiers sailors and airmen overseas for three decades. But the company shut Down its sales offices in West Germany Britain Japan Guam and South Korea in Early april amid mounting Legal and financial problems. Since that time gds has struggled to keep its doors open while working on a reorganization plan in . Bankruptcy court in Miami. The company filed for bankruptcy court Protection april 6. Here a where the Case stands right now according to Wragg and Doug Lyons one of two attorneys representing lot purchasers and Home owners in bankruptcy court. The main Issue being debated involves go cd a ability to finish putting in roads sewer lines and electric services for roughly 35,000 customers who continue to mail in monthly payments on unfinished lots. One complicating Factor is that go cd a sales program is arranged in such a Way that buyers Are expected to make monthly payments for As Long As 12 i years while gds holds the deed to the lots. Only when property is paid for in full can a buyer build a Home on his or her land. Service members overseas often would agree to buy lots sight unseen that they did no to intend to live on until after retiring from military service perhaps a decade in the future. That allowed gds to spread out its development costs Over a number of years. But it also Means that unless go cd a financial position improves soon some property owners might never get what they be paid for. Lyons said the bankruptcy court appears committed to protecting lot owners rights but at this Point he a not certain the judge in the Case is going to Force gds to put aside enough Money to guarantee that All the lots that have been sold will be made ready for Home building in a reasonable period of time. A the bankruptcy court is not extracting the necessary dollars a Lyons said. A we have a concern whether our people will ultimately receive what they contracted  Lyons and Wragg said the bankruptcy court is considering establishing an escrow account to finance development costs but How much Money ultimately goes into it and where it will come from remains to be seen. One positive note Wragg said is that gds recently secured a commitment for $41 million in new financing from a consortium of Banks led by manufacturers Hanover and chemical Bank of new York. The Money will pay for general operating costs Wragg said. A Side Issue Lyons said is whether roadways that gds built in various communities Over the past 20 years Are still usable or whether they need repair. Some of the roads Are in areas where gds has sold a Large number of lots but virtually no Homes have been built the attorney said. A team of inspectors from the state of Florida has been appointed to assess the problem and gauge the resulting financial Impact on gds Lyons said. One of the other big hurdles gds has to overcome is restoring its shopworn image. In addition to the Black Mark of bankruptcy the company a credibility took a severe blow in March when gds and two of its top officers pleaded guilty in Federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Those guilty pleas followed a lengthy investigation by the . Attorneys office in Miami. The criminal proceedings against gds focused on what Federal investigators said was a scheme to sell retirement Homes in Florida at inflated prices based on phony real estate appraisals arranged by a gds subsidiary Homes allegedly were priced at least 25 percent above Market value on a routine basis and on some occasions sold for nearly double their True value according to Federal prosecutors. Other observers maintain that go cd a scheme also included the Sale of lots for As much As 1,000 percent Over Market value in the eight counties in Florida where the firm operates. Those developments Are port lab Lac port Charlotte North port port St. Lucie Vero Beach Highlands Vero shores port Malabar Sebastian Highlands Silver Springs shores and Fulington Creek. A the lawsuits and indictments against general development focused on housing fraud because that a where most of the devastation was occurring a said Lyons who represents some 70,000 property owners battling for their rights in bankruptcy court. A people with $80,000 mortgages were being Hurt More than those with a $10,000 contract for a lot that they could walk away  but Lyons said that does no to mean gds is any less at blame when it comes to the Sale of residential lots. A we could have filed a lawsuit alleging Home site fraud too. Its not like the company did no to do anything wrong a he said. For its part gds officials admit Only to the Sale of overpriced Homes. Wragg said gds feels an obligation to treat people fairly who Are buying residential lots but he denies any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the prices that were charged. Not All customers see things the same Way though and a full 50 percent have stopped paying gds to make their Point Wragg said. A a that a not Good and there a been no sudden burst of Confidence to turn things around a he said. Wragg added that the Sharp decline in monthly income adds to go cd a problems As it strives to stay afloat. . Lags in vocational training Washington apr one in four Young americans May never have the skills necessary to hold a meaningful Job because the United states education system virtually ignores vocational training a government study claims. A the United states is renowned worldwide for its College and University system which provides extensive Opportunity for higher education a the report by the government accounting office says. A yet Only half of . Youth go to College. For the other half . Education and training often provide inadequate preparation for  the Gao said Britain West Germany Japan and Sweden All do a better Job of preparing non College bound youth. Results of the study requested by reps. James Scheuer d-n.y., and Augustus Hawkins d-cahf., Are being reviewed in Congress. About 9 million Young americans Are ill equipped to hold entry level jobs the Gao said. Scheuer and Hawkins said they asked for a comparison of How the United states and competitor countries prepare non College youth for employment because of the perception that foreign lands have better educated workers. The Gao study said about 9.3 million of the nations 33 million youth aged 16 to 24 did not have what it takes to get an entry level Job in 1988. The total includes 5.5 million High school dropouts. The Gao study estimates that by the time they Are 25 years old More than one Quarter of americans Young people will Lack the minimum skills required by employers. The Gao noted that Britain West Germany Japan and Sweden have More homogeneous populations than the United states. But officials also pointed to a recent study that found those countries spend proportionately More of their Gross National product for preschool through High school education than the United states. Finally the study found that the other nations invest extensively in jobless out of school youth to assure them a Job through further education and training. . Employment and training programs reach fewer students the Gao said