Two months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cracked down on the founders of Dakota Plains Holdings Inc., the midstream energy company filed for bankruptcy in Minneapolis shortly before Christmas. Dakota Plains, which is seeking a sale of its operations to a Houston-based buyer, listed only $3.1 million in assets against nearly $75.4 million in liabilities in its Chapter 11 petition.
Some of those debts include thousands of dollars owed to at least three law firms. Dakota Plains ran into trouble this past fall after its former CEO Craig McKenzie resigned amid sagging financials as a result of the ongoing decline in global oil prices and allegations that the Wayzata, Minnesota-based company had manipulated its stock price.
