Thursday, January 29, 2009

Count Me In Forced Into Bankruptcy

The Federal Bankruptcy Court has apparently lost patience with Count Me In Corp.—-much like many of the Bellevue, Wash.-based firm's clients. Count Me In issued a press release Thursday that said it expects the court to seize its assets and appoint a trustee to supervise their liquidation. On Jan. 8, three of Count Me In's clients petitioned the court to step in by today if it failed to demonstrate that it could pay its obligations as they became due. Founded eight years ago, Count Me In handles online payments and registrations for youth sports programs. But some 220 clubs and organizations across the country say they haven't received about $5 million in outstanding online registration fees. Terry Drayton, Count Me In's chief executive officer, insists that money would've been repaid. He also said the company had elicited interest from a "well-qualified" buyer, but it backed off when it realized it couldn’t close a deal by today’s deadline. "This is an incredibly sad day for our Count Me In Corporation clients," Drayton said. "It was my intention to repay every penny we owed to our clients."