Chinqua Penn Estate Seized In Bankruptcy Case

One of North Carolina's beautiful estates that is open to tourists, Chinqua Penn Plantation near Reidsville, North Carolina, was turned over to a trustee earlier this week. The property was seized as part of a bankruptcy case involving tobacco executive Calvin Phelps and three of his companies. The estate was built in the 1920s by the Penn family. In 1959 it was given to the state of North Carolina and Phelps bought the property in 2006 for $4.1 million, possibly with company money.

BusinessWeek quotes bankruptcy examiner Gene Tarr who said in a court filing that "squandered and wasted corporate assets and otherwise breached his fiduciary duties of loyalty" and he asked a bankruptcy judge to force Phelps to give back at least $8.1 million he used to buy Chinqua-Penn, two corporate jets, cigar-manufacturing equipment, a $142,000 Maserati and other assets. The Winston-Salem Journal details the history of the Chinqua Penn Plantation. It was closed in 1991, reopened in 1995 for meetings and weddings, closed again in 2002 and then reopened under Phelps' ownership hosting weddings, meeting and events like Great Gatsby day. The property is famous for its beautiful flowering gardens. Tickets to tour the estate sell for $20. The estate is closed to the public until Saturday morning.