Bank seeks to foreclose on business owner accused of embezzlement

The bank holding the mortgage on a home owned by a Wichita, Kans. woman accused of embezzling millions from two physician-owned medical businesses and her estranged husband has stated foreclosure proceedings.

UMB Bank last week filed suit seeking to foreclose on a property owend by Nancy J. Martin and Thomas Martin, saying they missed mortgage payments on their 4,700-square-foot patio home. According to the lawsuit, the bank did not receive the money due on the $701,250 note in November, and all other payments since then have gone unpaid.

The Martins now owe $638,220.44, the lawsuit says. That includes a principal balance of $627,886.88; more than $8,500 in interest; late charges; and the bank's legal fees associated with filing the case.

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Home Foreclosure document and legal gavel

The foreclosure is the latest court case naming the Martins as defendants since Mid-Kansas Wound Specialists and Emergency Services last year accused Nancy Martin of embezzling more than $4 million while she worked as their business administrator. The businesses provide services at Wesley Medical Center.

Since January, her husband has filed for divorced and Intrust Bank filed suit over an unpaid loan.

The medical businesses, in a civil suit filed in October, say Nancy Martin stole the money between 2006 and 2017 and admitted to the theft when confronted with it. No criminal charges have been filed. The civil suit accuses Thomas Martin of aiding and abetting his wife's thefts.

As business administrator, Martin's duties included handling Mid-Kansas Wound Specialists and Emergency Services' books and records, paying bills, handling payroll, writing checks and reconciling bank accounts. One of the businesses discovered the thefts during an Internal Revenue Service audit.

The embezzlement caused around $6.3 million in damages including lost profits and investigative costs, the businesses claim. According to the Mid-Kansas Wound Specialists and Emergency Services' civil suit, the Martins have indicated that they don't have the money to pay back the stolen money.

Neither of the Martins has commented on the case. Nancy Martin could not be reached for comment. No attorney is listed for her in any of the court cases.

An injunction that's a part of the embezzlement suit froze the Martins' assets last year and prohibits them from spending money on anything but "reasonable and necessary" living, health and legal expenses.

Some of the stolen cash, the medical business' suit suggests, may have helped pay the mortgage on the North Foliage home. The three-bedroom, five-bathroom house is valued at $868,300, according to 2018 county appraisal records, and has a full basement.

Neither of the Martins still live at the address, court records suggest. A petition filed in January by Thomas Martin seeking to end his 53-year marriage says he now lives at a home the couple has in Phoenix.

Nancy Martin lives in a 4,800-square-foot house the couple owns on North Gatewood, the divorce petition says. That home was appraised by the county at $694,100, records show.

The couple is well known in Wichita. Nancy Martin served on the Wichita State University Foundation board and the university's National Advisory Council, as well as on the University of Kansas Endowment 4-Wichita board, which raises money for KU School of Medicine-Wichita. She's also been a Wichita Art Museum board member.

Her husband has served on the Wichita Community Foundation board.

In addition to the Martins, UMB Bank's foreclosure suit also names Mid-Kansas Wound Specialists, Emergency Services, Intrust Bank and any unknown occupants of the property as defendants.

The medical businesses are listed because they "may have or may claim to have some right, title, interest or lien" in or on the North Foliage property due to the embezzlement suit.

Intrust Bank may have some claim or interest in the property, the foreclosure suit says, because of a case filed against the Martins in January alleging the couple failed to fully repay a $480,000 loan.

The outstanding balance on that loan is more than $409,000, according to court records.

Tribune Content Agency
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