A Des Moines company accused of deceiving more than 200 home buyers and sellers has filed for bankruptcy. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller brought suit against the Woolford Group in August to freeze their assets and bring in a third party to run the company. He accused the company of buying homes with the promise of finding a buyer quickly, and then not following through. Miller says keeping the company going wouldn’t work as it was more than four million dollars in debt. He says as they looked as it they saw it could not continue as a business and says they’re concerned that there’s not enough money to pay everyone. Miller says now that the company is bankrupt, they can continue the lawsuit against the individual owners. He says they’ll go after the personal assets of Rod Woolford Senior and Rod Woolford Junior who owned the company. Miller says with a private law firm handling the case, the state will try to help individual home buyers and sellers reach agreements. He says the agreements depend on the state of the house, the gap between the selling and purchase price, and the willingness of the mortgage holder to help out. Miller says the lawsuit involves some 250 properties — mostly in Polk County.
