Former Crest Financial subprime loan kingpin died broke on January 25th; declared bankruptcy July 31, 2012 owing nearly $2.0 million to creditors.
In television and radio ads, Giroux dubbed himself "Can-do" Dan Giroux for his ability to secure loans.
When "Can Do" Dan Giroux went to that big bank vault in the sky on January 25th, 2013, he left behind a string of debts as long as Ann Hathaway's scrawny neck.
A former business associate of Cali-dwelling debt management fraudster and fleeing felon Craig S. Gibson, Giroux ran Crest Financial, Inc. from a 9,716 square foot building along M-22 across from the West Bay. The three-story building was divided between two floors of office space and a high-end condominium on the top floor.
On June 11, 2011, Giroux rented that condo to a couple who signed a lease for one year and handed over a $3,500 check to cover the unit's security deposit. When they moved out a year later, Giroux didn't return the deposit, and the couple sued.
They're still waiting, and it's likely they'll never get their money back.
But they could have been left holding an even bigger bag--like Bank of America, owed nearly $450,000 for two outstanding mortgages on a home Giroux and his wife Linda Dargis Giroux owned on Woolsey Lake Road in Northport.
Or the Manistique "investment property" with a $550,000+ debt.
Hell, even the boat he returned to PNC Bank in Kalamazoo still had a $64,000 "deficiency balance".
THE OLLIE FRETTER OF THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE LOAN BUSINESS
Oliver "Ollie" Fretter graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1941. He was an electronics and major appliance retailer in the Detroit area who, at one time, even had locations nationally.
Ollie Fretter became known in the Detroit area in the 1970's and
1980's for his humorous TV commercials in which he promised, "I'll give
you five pounds of coffee if I can't beat your best deal." When
required, he gave away five-pound cans of Maxwell House coffee which he
wrapped with paper labels that read, "Fretter House Coffee".
Dave Skibowski was among the former employees who sued Giroux in 2000, accusing Giroux and Crest Financial of firing them in order to avoid paying commissions on loans they sold. Skibowski and those former employees of the man who touted himself as being able to get almost anybody a loan claimed that "Can-Do" Dan Giroux had a problem paying money he owed. Gee, too bad no one listened.
Crest "willfully and wrongfully engaged in an intentional pattern of hiring and firing employees to avoid having to pay earned sales commissions and or wages," according to the suit filed by lawyer Craig Elhart.
"Dan and I go way back. As long as he's been up here, I've known him and considered him a friend," Skibowski said at the time. But several weeks before the lawsuit was filed, Skibowski said he tried to meet with Giroux and he was thrown out of his office.
Skibowski said he and the other employees decided to file the suit when they all realized how much money was owed to them - he said at the time it was more than $200,000. Skibowski - who said he was not owed a lot and would not have filed suit on his own - said he quit Crest in October 1999 after a dispute with Giroux about money taken out of his paycheck for company expenses.
He said he had known Giroux for seven years and was with him when Crest Financial was established. He called Giroux a talented salesman who decided he wanted to be the "Ollie Fretter" of the mortgage loan business.
Reality pimp-slapped Fretter, too. Unable to successfully compete with big box superstores like Best Buy and Circuit City, Fretter's last store closed in
May of 1996.
NEVER MIND THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Giroux, who boasted in December 2006 that he had been named vice chairman of the Michigan Mortgage Brokers Association’s Standard Procedures and Ethical Codes Board, saw the end coming in 2009. Because there was so much activity and so much money being made, people with no experience flocked to the mortgage industry.
“Our industry is looking at whether we need to license mortgage professionals,” Giroux said then, “to ensure that Michigan consumers get responsible advice.”
The man who pioneered predatory, subprime lending in Traverse City, voluntarily surrendered his Michigan Mortgage Loan Officer license on July 31, 2010, ending his career representing Grand Rapids-based Private Mortgage Wholesale, Inc.
The company's main office is located in a building on Wealthy Street.
Giroux's Mortgage Loan Originator license expired on January 1, 2013--less than one month before he did.
A partial list of Giroux's creditors follows:
13TH CIRCUIT COURT
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49684
AGAPE PLASTICS INC
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49544
ALLEN MAXWELL & SILVER
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS NJ 07632
AMERITECH PUBLISHING, INC.
ARLINGTON TX 76004-0769
AT&T
ARLINGTON TX 76004
AURORA BANK FSB
SCOTTSBLUFF NE 69361
BANK OF AMERICA
GREENSBORO NC 27410
BAY AREA COMPUTER
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49544-9108
CHASE BANK USA, NA
WESTERVILLE OH 43081
CITIZENS BANK
FLINT MI 48502
CITY OF TRAVERSE CITY
CREDIT PLUS
SALISBURY MD 21803
CRITTER CONTROL
SUTTONS BAY MI 49682
DAVID HANSEN
HART MI 49420
DR. MICHAEL PARKER
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
DTE ENERGY
DETROIT MI 48226-1279
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE
LANSING MI 48909-7900
FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INS. CO.
WARRENVILLE IL 60555
FORD MOTOR CREDIT
LIVONIA MI 48153-7901
GRAYBAR
TAMPA FL 33614
HOLLY DLUGE, CPA
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49684
HSBC ART VAN
CAROL STREAM IL 60197
INDUCTION LAMPS, LLC
ROHNERT PARK CA 94928
KONE INC
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49548
LEELANAU COUNTY TREASURER
LEWIS WOLTERS
NORTHPORT MI 49670
LINDA DARGIS-GIROUX
NORTHPORT MI 49670
LTD FINANCIAL SERVICES
HOUSTON TX 77074
M.L. HARRIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC
AMESVILLE OH 45711
TALON GROUP
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
MI ATTORNEY GENERAL
LANSING MI 48909
MICK HARRIS
AMESVILLE OH 45711
MIDWESTERN BROADCASTING CO
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49684
NATIONAL CITY/PNC
BRECKSVILLE OH 44141
NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE
LEWISVILLE TX 75067
NORMAN DROSTE
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
NORTHPOINTE BANK
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49546
NORTHPOINTE BANK MORTGAGE LLC
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49546-8621
PAUL AND CARRIE CHAUVETTE
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
PEN PRODUCTS
INDIANAPOLIS IN 46201
PITNEY BOWES GLOBAL FIN SERV
LOUISVILLE KY 40285
PLANTE & MORAN
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
PMP PERSONNEL SERVICES
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
PNC BANK
KALAMAZOO MI 49081
PRIME CIRCUITS
SOUTHFIELD MI 48075
DICKINSON WRIGHT PLLC
DETROIT MI 48226
RMS
NAPERVILLE IL 60563
SEROTA DORKO & ASSOCIATES
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS IL 60006
SHELL GASOLINE CARD CENTER
DES MOINES IA 50368-9151
SHERMETA ADAMS & VON ALLMEN
ROCHESTER HILLS MI 48308-5016
SHRED IT
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49512
SMITH HAUGHEY RICE & ROEGGE
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49684
STAN SILVERMAN
SUTTONS BAY MI 49682
STATE OF MICHIGAN
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AGENCY
BENEFIT OVERPAYMENT COLLECTION
DETROIT MI 48202
SULLIVAN ADVERTISING
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
TALON GROUP
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
TBA CREDIT UNION
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49685-1049
TERRENCE RAVEN II
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49684
TOM AND SHIRLEY MLEJNEK
KALEVA MI 49645
TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC
WILMINGTON DE 19850-5630
TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC
CLEVELAND OH 44125
TRAVERSE CITY LIGHT & POWER
CITY OF TRAVERSE CITY
US YELLOW PAGES
JACKSONVILLE FL 32203-1308
VALLEY CITY LINEN
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49506
VERIZON NORTH
SAINT CHARLES MO 63304
WELTMAN WEINBERG
TROY MI 48084
WILLIAM AZKOUL, PC
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49503
WINDSTORM MARKETING SOLUTIONS
TRAVERSE CITY MI 49686
Dave Skibowski is no angel either. Let's say there is a long list of people in TC that he owes money too like several of his former commercial landlords. Skibowski also had a history of doing to his employees what he sued Giroux for. Myself included.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Sounds like another story!
ReplyDeleteDan Giroux's legend lives on! He was a good man with good intent towards all. That is what he built his business on and died knowing. Nobody liked their morgages after the SPM collapse! Nor dis anyone like stockbrokers. Dan took it harder on the chin because he was well known through his marketing genius! Long live Dan!!! :)
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