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A federal judge has discharged rapper 50 Cent's bankruptcy case after he paid more than $22 million, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Ann Nevins approved the discharge Thursday in Hartford, Connecticut. The rapper who burst onto the music scene in 2003 with his debut album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin," filed for chapter 11 reorganization in 2015, citing debts of $36 million and assets of less than $20 million. Nevins approved a plan in July calling for 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, to pay back about $23 million. Jackson's lawyers said yesterday that he paid off the five-year plan early with $8.7 million of his own money and $13.65 million he received in a recent settlement of a legal malpractice lawsuit against other attorneys.

Bernard Madoff's victims will soon recoup another $252 million from the trustee unwinding the swindler's firm, boosting their total recovery to $9.72 billion, Reuters reported. The latest payout by trustee Irving Picard was made possible by settlements in the second half of 2016 with people accused either of facilitating Madoff's fraud or withdrawing more money from his firm than they deserved. This included money from a settlement with the family of Stanley Chais, who prior to his 2010 death managed money for Hollywood clients like director Steven Spielberg, and was accused by Picard of excess withdrawals. Picard's eighth distribution started yesterday and will go to customers who once had 953 accounts at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Checks will range from $271.80 to about $42.3 million.

Wet Seal LLC filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday following reports last week that the struggling teen apparel retailer had closed all its stores after it was unable to find a buyer, Reuters reported. The Irving, Calif.-based company listed assets of $10 million-$50 million and liabilities of $50 million-$100 million in a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. Thursday's bankruptcy filing is Wet Seal's second, following a Chapter 11 filing in 2015. The difficult market for teen apparel has triggered bankruptcy filings by high-profile retailers such as American Apparel LLC and Aeropostale Inc. in recent years as they struggle to cope with competition, declining mall traffic as well as changing spending habits of young people.

British sporting goods company Sports Direct International Plc is in talks to bid for Eastern Outfitters LLC, the parent of U.S. discount chain Bob's Stores and outdoor retailer Eastern Mountain Sports, Reuters reported. Sports Direct, Britain's largest sporting goods retailer with about 700 stores in that country and continental Europe, has been looking for ways to expand in the United States. Last year, it bid for the intellectual property of bankrupt retailer Sports Authority, but lost to Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. Sports Direct is in talks with Eastern Outfitters about it becoming a stalking-horse bidder in a bankruptcy auction for the company.

Duro is one of at least three of Lynn Tilton’s Patriarch-managed companies to abruptly close in 2016, together costing around 2,000 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Tilton’s empire that year was roiled by a flurry of lawsuits, as well as civil-fraud allegations leveled by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a statement, a Patriarch representative said that the companies it manages are often in financial distress. “Given the substantial obstacles that many of these companies face, not all of them can be saved,” the firm said. The size of Tilton’s operation isn’t clear. In 2015, Patriarch counted 74 companies in its portfolio, according to a press release. On the witness stand in a Delaware court in August, Tilton said that she believed there were about 50 Patriarch-run businesses still in operation. In a television interview last week, she put the number at more than 60. Patriarch declined to explain the discrepancy or discuss individual businesses.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and certain affiliates have agreed to pay $797.5 million to resolve all remaining litigation left over from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s 2008 bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. JPMorgan paid $1.42 billion in 2016 that resolved two other major pieces of litigation. That settlement, approved by the bankruptcy court last February, allowed Lehman to make additional payments to creditors of about $1.49 billion. The most-recent settlement is subject to bankruptcy court approval. A hearing has been set for Feb. 16, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008, with $613 billion in debt. The case is Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank NA (In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.), 11-06760, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

The major U.S. source for elements vital to electronics, from cellphones to defense systems, is going up for auction in bankruptcy court, with a $40 million opening offer from an entity identified as Rare Earth Global Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. California’s Mountain Pass mine, the sole significant developed source for crucial rare earths electronics elements in the U.S., is destined to go on the auction block in March, according to papers filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Up for sale is land and some equipment at the mine, according to court papers. Mineral rights at the site belong to an entity called Secured Natural Resources LLC, which is owned by creditors of the mine’s former owner, Molycorp Inc., including JHL Capital Group LLC. The sale plan is the product of months of work by bankruptcy trustee Paul Harner, who was left with the Mountain Pass mine at the end of the contentious bankruptcy proceeding of its former parent, Molycorp.

Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal miner, began marketing a  $1.5 billion debt sale this week as part of a reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. The company is looking to raise the funds through first-lien debt, split across a $1 billion five-year non-call two bond and a $500 million loan, according to an investor presentation. The new debt sale will help Peabody repay roughly $3 billion in existing first-lien claims and complete a reorganization plan, that is expected to cut debt by over $5 billion.

Oil and natural gas explorer Vanguard Natural Resources LLC filed for bankruptcy protection, adding to a long list of energy firms that have succumbed to weak oil prices, Reuters reported yesterday. The company said that it signed an agreement with certain bondholders that includes a $19.25 million equity investment, with some debtors backing a $255.75 million rights offering. Vanguard also said it had obtained a $50 million debtor-in-possession financing facility, underwritten by Citibank NA, JPMorgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Bank NA. The financing, which is subject to court approval, combined with Vanguard's cash from operations, is expected to give the company sufficient liquidity during the chapter 11 process. Read more. 

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The world-renowned Mavericks big-wave surf contest appears to be in jeopardy as organizers seem to be drowning in debt, NBCBayArea.com reported. The contest's two main organizing entities, Cartel Management Inc. and Titans of Mavericks LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday. The surf contest is well known for the huge waves at Pillar Point Harbor, near Half Moon Bay, as well as the worldwide call for the top invited surfers to show up within 48 hours.The most recent financial setback was a $1 million lawsuit Cartel lost in Los Angeles late last year. It was not related to the Mavericks contest. The dispute over Cartel assets revealed other problems, including unpaid bills, unpaid contest permits and a lawsuit filed by former sponsor Red Bull earlier this month.