Three Brunswick County, N.C., golf courses and other tracts of land at Ocean Ridge Plantation will no longer be auctioned in a foreclosure sale.
The sale was originally scheduled for June 25 at the Brunswick County Courthouse, but according to Deborah Boodro, director of sales for Ocean Ridge Plantation, the foreclosure was dismissed.
The foreclosure was dismissed because of concerns by Mark Saunders, controlling shareholder of Ocean Ridge Properties Inc., that there were unauthorized and inaccurate advertisements placed in area newspapers about the foreclosure sale that could have misled the public, Boodro said.
Saunders was expected to be the only bidder at the auction. He couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
The advertisements in question were placed by Ocean Ridge's former president, Larry Schwartz.
"The advertisements were not authorized by the directors of the companies involved," Boodro said.
In March, Schwartz was indicted by a West Palm Beach, Fla., grand jury in March on fraud and money laundering charges. He is jailed without bail while awaiting trial. That indictment is not related to the foreclosure.
The foreclosure was initiated after the golf course owners failed to make payments totaling $416,666 on a $20 million loan they received in late December from RBC/Centura Bank.
In May, Saunders bought the loan from the bank and initiated the foreclosure.
Boodro said Friday the foreclosure was dismissed without prejudice.
All three golf courses - Lion's Paw, Tiger's Eye and Panther's Run - and other properties will continue to be managed without interruption by Coastal Communities. Saunders is the chief executive officer of Coastal Communities.
Source: The Myrtle Beach Sun-News
