US Seeks Independent Bankruptcy Probe of First Brands Crash (1)

The federal watchdog for corporate bankruptcies joined a creditor’s demand for an independent investigation of the troubled auto-parts supplier First Brands Group, which has admitted it can’t find $2.3 billion related to off-balance sheet financing deals.

The US Trustee argued in court filings that “serious allegations of fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, or mismanagement,” justifies a quicker-than-normal process to appoint a bankruptcy examiner in First Brands’ insolvency case. Lawyers for the US Trustee, Kevin Epstein, asked the judge overseeing the bankruptcy to move up a hearing on the request to Oct. 29 from Nov. 17.

Earlier this month, Raistone, a provider ...