Professor G. Marcus Cole is quoted in a San Jose Mercury News article about how scammed investors lost their assets and what role the bankruptcy court played in awarding most of the remaining assets to lawyers:

... Marcus Cole, a law professor at Stanford University, disagrees. Cole argues that if Schneider's estate had not gone to bankruptcy court, the first creditor to execute a lien on his assets might have received the bulk of the remaining money.

"It would make it a race to the courthouse," Cole said. "If he owes banks or some other companies experienced at getting monies back, they have lawyers in place and can act quickly to foreclose on collateral. In the absence of bankruptcy court, smaller creditors would not be protected."