U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Rosemary Gambardella has dismissed a bankruptcy petition filed several weeks ago by Women in Support of the Million Man March (WISOMM), a nonprofit group run by longtime Newark, N.J. activist Fredrica Bey, according to a story in the Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger. The group, which runs a preschool for low-income children, no longer has money to run the school or pay its employees, according to court documents. A trustee appointed by the court to oversee the bankruptcy said that he would have been forced to close the school if the case moved forward. “The trustee has recommended this case be dismissed, and the court agrees with the trustee’s business judgment,” Gambardella said in her ruling. Earlier this summer, WISOMM failed to make scheduled payments on their property to Wells Fargo and now owes the bank $8.2 million. The bank is expected to move quickly on foreclosure. Bey and her husband, Rayford Scott, had claimed that the charity owes them more than $1 million, but dropped those claims last week. Last year, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed a civil suit against Bey, alleging that she misspent more than $300,000 in federal grant money intended to help at-risk youth.
