38 Studios files for bankruptcy

Kingdoms of Amalur and would-be Copernicus developer 38 Studios, which closed its doors last month, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

According to relevant documents, the company owes $100 million in Baltimore. Chances are the company's total debt is much more substantial, as the Baltimore LLC branch is only one of four of the company's affiliates. The others include 38 Studios LLC, Mercury Project LLC, and Precision Jobs LLC.

The filing also provided a list of creditors that spanned 45 pages.

All of 38 Studios' assets will be liquidated — but they only value between $500,000 and $1 million.

Col. Steven G. O'Donnell, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, said that his team, the FBI, the US Attorney's office, and the Rhode Island attorney general "are working together to investigate activities that have recently come to light at 38 Studios."

O'Donnell mentioned the $75 million state-backed loan that brought the company to Rhode Island, along with a recently disclosed $8.5 million in loans from Bank RI that was based on state film tax credits not yet issued. The investigation is likely to determine whether fraudulent or other illegal activity transpired.

Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee will conduct a press conference today at 4 PM EST to address the situation.

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[Providence Journal]