Texas tycoon Sam Wyly, who filed for bankruptcy this week, is trying to exhaust his fortune through exorbitant spending to impede the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's collection of a $198.1 million fraud claim against him, the regulator told a U.S. judge yesterday, Reuters reported. During a hearing in Dallas bankruptcy court, a lawyer for the SEC criticized Wyly's proposed budget as "staggering." Items include $32,000 a month for assistants to help him write his books and nearly $7,000 a month to support elderly friends and family members. A lawyer for Wyly, Josiah Daniel, said that the budget "reflects some substantial cuts." But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser said Wyly should consider whether such expenses are "appropriate" given his bankruptcy filing. Wyly filed for chapter 11 protection on Sunday, saying he cannot afford the SEC's claim as well as a potential tax judgment from the Internal Revenue Service.
