Anthony Cobos files for bankruptcy, claimed he owned Chaparral, NM property

Anthony Cobos and his wife filed for Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy on Jan. 16, 2014, less than a month before he was scheduled to turn himself in to serve his federal prison sentence.

In bankruptcy documents obtained by ABC-7 they list $740,000 in assets and more than $1 million in liabilities.

Bankruptcy documents show the toll Cobos’ defense against federal charges took on his finances.

Several of his properties were turned over to his attorney to pay him.

The New Mexico criminal complaint filed on Jan. 30 shows that in Aug. 2009 Cobos said he owned the property in Chaparral, New Mexico that he now faces a fraud charge over.

The complaint states Cobos entered into a lease purchase contract and that he received 46 payments of $506 each, plus five lump sum payments of $20,000 from the tenants.

Cobos was arrested on federal corruption charges in Dec. 2011.

Nov. 2012 was the last time there was a payment to the mortgage company. The tenants paid Cobos $43,290 in monthly payments and one lump sum payment.

The tenants continued to pay Cobos $8,542 even though the loan had gone into default, “all of which, had they been applied, would have brought the mortgage out of default” according to the New Mexico criminal complaint document.

In June 2013, JPMorgan sends foreclosure notice to the tenants and the tenants learn the property is owned by Brenda Van Dyne, Cobos’ deceased stepmother, and JPMorgan is the mortgage holder.

Cobos pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in Sept. 2013.

Cobos claimed he owned the property in Chaparral and listed JPMorgan as secured creditors for the properties – the ones holding the note, the ones who own the property.

Cobos listed the tenants as creditors with unsecured claims and admits he owes them $20,000.

U.S. Marshals deputies took 46-year-old Cobos into custody without incident around 8 a.m. Friday. He waived extradition and was booked into the Dona Ana County Jail at 12:54 p.m. on Friday.

Cobos is charged with two counts of 2nd degree felony fraud from the alleged incident in Chaparral. The new charges are not connected to the federal charges Cobos pleaded guilty to last year.