Local
Attorney General Alleges US Fidelis Owners Plundered Company
By Mike Thomas
Mar 12, 2010 - 4:21:47 AM

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says a Wentzville based extended auto warranty firm has intentionally shortchanged its customers, and he alleges that firm's owners illegally plundered the company for personal gain.

Koster filed motions in federal bankruptcy court Thursday against US Fidelis. Koster's office has asked a bankruptcy judge to appoint an independent trustee to run the company, which at one time was the top seller of extended auto service contracts.

Late last year, the company laid off hundreds of workers and stopped selling the contracts.  The firm is still open but consists of only about 100 call center workers whose primary job is to keep current contract holders from cancelling.

Kosster cited a history of what he called "fraud and self-dealing" by US Fidelis owners Darain and Cory Atkinson.   In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he said the brothers and their management team cannot be trusted to run the company under bankruptcy protection. The company is currently being  run by turnaround consultant Scott Eisenberg of Amherst Partners, based in Birmingham, Mich. He replaced Chief Executive Chris Riley, who resigned last month.   The Atkinson brothers are the company's only shareholders.