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Communications tech company FiberTower Corp . filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday with the hope of scaling back its operations and handing over ownership to bondholders who are owed a piece of its $527 million in debt, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. After losing business from wireless companies after aggressively growing its footprint, company executives placed the 57-worker company under chapter 11 protection, disclosing in court papers that the value of its business is less than the $132 million it owes a group of bondholders.

Palm tree farmer Cocopah Nurseries Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection on Monday after an out-of-court restructuring, amid diminishing revenue, fell apart, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. The company, which mainly grows and sells palm trees, but also grows citrus fruits and dates, has seen revenue fall to $23 million in 2010 from $57 million in 2006. To deal with the tight liquidity, Cocopah said, it began negotiations to restructure its debt with lenders, according to court filings. It owes $70 million on its line of credit from Rabobank and $65 million on a line of credit from Wells Fargo. It is in default on both.

A funding vehicle once controlled by the now defunct mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, and called for an examination of the federal regulator that oversees Freddie Mac, Reuters reported yesterday. Ocala Funding LLC filed for chapter 11 protection less than one month after a federal appeals court upheld the April 2011 conviction of former Taylor Bean Chairman Lee Farkas, who is serving a 30-year prison term for being what prosecutors called the mastermind of a $2.9 billion bank fraud. Ocala said in a court filing that it was established to buy Taylor Bean mortgage loans and then sell them to third parties, mainly Freddie Mac. Ocala said that from September 2008 until Taylor Bean collapsed in August 2009, Farkas and other Taylor Bean employees schemed to defraud it and its creditors by arranging to transfer about $805 million to Freddie Mac. In seeking an examination, Ocala asked for court permission to subpoena documents and question FHFA and Freddie Mac officials over "potential fraudulent transfer and other claims," with a goal of recovering more assets for creditors.

Iowa-based broker PFGBest collapsed yesterday after regulators accused it of misappropriating customer funds for more than two years, Reuters reported yesterday. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which along with industry regulators had given a clean bill of health to dozens of brokers following spot checks in January, alleged that the firm's regulated Peregrine Financial Group unit and its owner had defrauded customers and lied to regulators in order to hide a shortfall that now exceeds $200 million. "The whereabouts of the funds is currently unknown," the CFTC said in a complaint against PFG and its founder and chairman, Russell R. Wasendorf Sr., whose suicide attempt on Monday morning outside the firm's Cedar Falls, Iowa, offices appears to have precipitated the crisis. Peregrine filed to liquidate under chapter 7 with between $500 million and $1 billion of assets and between $100 million and $500 million of liabilities. The company listed between 10,000 and 25,000 creditors.

Patriot Coal Corp. filed for chapter 11 protection along with nearly 100 affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, Reuters reported. Patriot said that it had $3.57 billion of assets and $3.07 billion of debts, and has arranged for $802 million of financing to help it continue mining and shipments during the reorganization. "The coal industry is undergoing a major transformation and Patriot's existing capital structure prevents it from making the necessary adjustments to achieve long-term success," Patriot hairman and CEO Irl Engelhardt said. Patriot had also been hurt by its admission in May that a key customer might default on a sales contract, forcing the St. Louis-based company to seek a new loan package.

Photography retail chain Ritz Camera & Image LLC filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday, less than three years after it emerged from its first bankruptcy, Reuters reported on Friday. The company, which was founded in 1918, was bought in a bankruptcy auction in 2009 by a group led by its top executive. The Beltsville, Md.-based Ritz, which operates nearly 300 stores in 34 states, listed assets and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million. The case is In re Ritz Camera & Image LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No:12-11868.

The company that makes transmissions for Chinook, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters, as well as the Raptor fighter aircraft, won interim authority on Friday to start tapping bankruptcy loans which may reach as much as $29 million, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. One day after Northstar Aerospace Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection, Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath authorized the borrowing of as much as $9 million to keep it in operation.

Northstar Aerospace (USA) Inc., a maker of aircraft gear and transmission assemblies, filed for bankruptcy protection to facilitate a sale, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The Belford Park, Ill.-based company listed assets of as much as $50,000 and debt of as much as $100 million in chapter 11 documents filed yesterday. Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc. and certain of its Canadian subsidiaries are applying today for an initial order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial Division) under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, according to a statement. The company in February announced it had entered into a forbearance agreement with lenders under which the creditors won’t take action until Feb. 17. The case is In re Northstar Aerospace (USA) Inc., 12-11817, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

Allied Systems Holdings Inc. yesterday won interim court approval of $20 million worth of financing, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The company's immediate need for operating cash is a matter on which all top lenders agreed as the car-hauling business slumps in July with manufacturers shut down in preparation for switching over to the next year's models.

Bankrupt New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP received approval on Wednesday from Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn to use some cash that remains in the firm's accounts to pay for critical functions as it winds down its affairs, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The firm now has approximately $13.4 million in cash on hand, according to an amended declaration by Joff Mitchell, the chief restructuring officer for the firm. However, lenders, who have a claim on the money as a result of amendments to loan agreements in the weeks leading up to Dewey’s bankruptcy filing, will have to wait until a June 13 hearing to see what they can get in exchange for fronting the firm the cash collateral.