Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 | 3:04 p.m.
Three affiliated Las Vegas companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Friday to restructure $16.1 million in debt related to commercial real estate developments.
The filings were made by ALEC4 LLC, NASDAQ5 LLC and NICK3 LLC.
The companies are managed by Dr. C. Leon Chen, an entrepreneur and dentist at 6170 W. Desert Inn Road who heads the Dental Implant Institute there. The Dental Implant Institute also lists locations on its website in Henderson; in Beverly Hills and Arcadia, Calif.; in Shanghai, China; and in Taipei, Taiwan.
ALEC4 in its filing said it has $2.5 million in assets and $5.3 million in liabilities. It has a development at 4949 Spring Mountain Road, near Decatur Boulevard, as well as investment properties on Industrial Road in Las Vegas and in Arizona and Utah.
The Spring Mountain Road property is encumbered by debt owed to East West Bank, Santa Ana, Calif., totaling about $1.49 million; as well as a $470,000 mortgage held by Nevada State Bank.
Nevada State Bank is owed another $1 million for a mortgage against 11870/11842 Industrial Road, Lot 3, records show.
ALEC4 in its filing listed income of about $83,000 in 2008, declining to $19,000 in 2009 and $17,000 in 2010.
NASDAQ5, in its filing, said creditors in its case include East West Bank and Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Peoria, Ill., owed more than $2.5 million against property at 4480 and 4631 Spring Mountain Road, east of Decatur Boulevard; and at 6170 W. Desert Inn Road, near Jones Boulevard.
Far East National Bank of Los Angeles is owed another $517,000 for a property at 4333 N. Las Vegas Blvd., near Craig Road, that was foreclosed on Jan. 19.
NASDAQ5's assets totaled $2.7 million and its liabilities were reported as $4 million.
The company has leases for the property at 4480 Spring Mountain Road with Sunrise Dental, CLK Restaurant and Asian Beauty, records show.
This business generated income of $196,000 in 2008, increasing to $323,000 in 2009 and $334,000 in 2010.
NICK3 in its filing listed assets of $4.4 million against liabilities of $6.8 million.
It has interests in the properties at 4631 Spring Mountain Road and 6170 W. Desert Inn Road as well as properties in California, New Mexico and Texas.
Its creditors include First International Bank, which is chartered in Texas; owed $1.2 million against the Desert Inn Road property; East West Bank and Nevada State Bank.
It has leases for the 4631 Spring Mountain Road property with Beauty to Beauty, Lily Massage & Spa and Pho Thai Binh LLC; and with Las Vegas Periodontal Care and Implant for the Desert Inn Road property, records show.
This business reported income of $375,000 in 2008, declining to $300,000 in 2009 and $168,000 in 2010.
Chen couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday on the bankruptcies of the companies.
Last April, First International Bank sued Chen, the Dental Implant Institute of Las Vegas, ALEC4, NASDAQ5, NICK3 and associated individuals and companies in Clark County District Court.
The lawsuit said NICK3 was in default on a 2005 loan for $1.272 million issued by First National Bank of Nevada -- which later failed and was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The FDIC later assigned the loan to First International Bank, which charged $1.156 million was due on the loan in April and sought to foreclose on collateral at 6170 W. Desert Inn Road occupied by Chen's implant center.
In answering the lawsuit in May, an attorney for Chen and the codefendants said in court papers that the defendants denied NICK3 was in default and that "at the time the lawsuit was filed, defendants were ready, willing, able and did bring the note current."
Any damages alleged were "the result of unforeseen and unforeseeable economic fluctuations which caused the failure of (First National Bank of Nevada) and over which defendants have no control," the defendants said in their response.
Records show that case remains open and may be headed for a trial -- though the bankruptcies may change that.
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