The owner of a Bismarck, N.D.-based photography studio that closed abruptly last year and refused to refund clients has filed chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing more than $4 million owed to creditors and just more than $20,000 in personal assets, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Federal court documents show Glasser Images owner Jack Glasser owes 50 creditors $4.06 million. Attorney General Drew Wrigley in May filed a lawsuit against Glasser and partner Jace Schacher, asking the court to bar them from doing business, reimburse clients for images not received, and pay contractors who provided the photography services. The lawsuit alleges the two falsely blamed the business closure on the coronavirus pandemic and obtained loans to keep the business afloat, but at the same time lived a lifestyle “of high-end dining, travel, and luxury vehicles.” Customers filed complaints totaling more than $1.4 million after the business closed in October 2021. Glasser Images owed its landlord $25,000 in rent and late fees. A judge in November ordered the business to preserve its websites while the attorney general investigated possible fraud. Tim O’Keeffe, the attorney representing Glasser Images, said in May that Wrigley’s office “asserted their own opinions into the complaint, which is full of speculation and puffery.” The case is slated for trial starting Sept. 25.
