Real-estate developer Woodbridge Group of Companies has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it grapples with questions about its fundraising practices from the Securities and Exchange Commission, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The bankruptcy filing means thousands of individual investors, including retirees that helped finance Woodbridge’s real estate dealings, are at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in Woodbridge’s chapter 11 case. The bankruptcy filing may also send tremors through the Southern California real-estate market, where many of the company’s properties — with an estimated $650 million to $750 million — are located. Woodbridge owns the Owlwood estate, a 1930s Italian Renaissance-style mansion once owned by the pop duo Sonny and Cher. A Woodbridge affiliate paid $90 million for Owlwood in September 2016 and has it on the market for $180 million. Owlwood was purchased the same month the SEC started asking questions about Woodbridge and its practice of raising money from mom-and-pop retail investors.
