If you want your business to end up in bankruptcy, Steve Rayman can help drive your company into…read morethe ground. If you prefer to stay afloat, RUN! Do not engage this crooked lawyer. Because of Rayman's repeated failure to protect the best interests of the company, my family's 103-year agricultural business ended up on the verge of bankruptcy after losing at least $1.2M to someone who posed as a prospective buyer, but never had any intention of buying the business. In the end, my family had no choice but to auction off all the land and equipment. Steve Rayman should be disbarred to prevent him from sending another small family farm into bankruptcy. After my family's business had to be placed into receivership (December 2021) in an effort to prevent bankruptcy, Steven L. Rayman was engaged as an attorney for the receiver. In June 2022, a con-artist (Jeffrey Wade) posed as a prospective buyer, but breached the purchase agreement almost immediately by failing to make the down payment. Neither Rayman nor the receiver informed my father (who was the biggest creditor) that the prospective buyer (Wade) had failed to make the down payment. Instead, Rayman and the receiver let Wade have free reign over the business, abscond with company-owned equipment, and collect all the revenue from the crop for the next 7 months. In October 2022, I learned about the breach of contract by accident when I discovered that the real estate agent who brokered the purchase deal was no longer employed by the realty company on whose forms the purchase agreement was written (Halderman Real Estate). I ended up talking with the VP at Halderman, who told me the realty compancy did not even have a copy of our purchase agreement. I contacted Rayman as well as the attorney for the bank to let them know that Wade was stealing all the revenue from the crop. I informed Rayman that an employee had told Dad that Wade had already collected 3 or maybe 4 checks from sales of the crop. I gave Rayman the name of the company (River Ridge) that was buying the crop, the name of the contact with whom Wade had been dealing, and urged Rayman to "make sure that the money for those apples is not going into Jeff Wade's pocket." That was when Rayman let it slip that Wade had never even made the down payment or signed the final purchase agreement, which was news to my Dad. Rayman assured me that he would take action. Yet as far as I can tell, he did nothing while Wade continued to steal as much as he could for another 4 months. By mid-February 2023, Wade had stopped returning my father's calls and had disappeared. Apparently, Wade had stolen all the money there was to steal. Dad also discovered other unpaid bills left by Wade. After Wade had disappeared, Steven Rayman still did nothing to clean up the mess that he helped create. At this point, we discovered that Wade had been convicted of racketeering in 2010 in Ohio and sentenced to a four-year prison term. He was also extradited to Florida for similar crimes. Apparently, no one had done any vetting of this prospective buyer. Yet, they gave him control of the business and allowed him to steal all the revenue from the crop. To my knowledge, River Ridge never paid the farm for any of the fruit that was sold to them in 2022 (which amounted to at least 2.5M pounds). If they made any payments, they were to Wade, who did not own the company and had no rights to collect the revenue. Why didn't Rayman take River Ridge to court or do anything to force them to pay the farm for the fruit they received? In March 2023, Dad talked with Rayman, who said he did not have time to take this case to court. He was willing "to help", but his primary concern was how he was going to be paid. Rayman did nothing except line his own pockets.

If your searching for the right BK attorney for you congratulations! Your search is over…read more If you're anything like I was, this was not a fun time of life at the moment. I remember the feelings of drowning, not sure what to do. It seemed like everything I tried was sinking me further. Just the thought of talking to a bankruptcy attorney made my stomach churn. But I knew I had to do something. I called Rayman & Knight and set up a visit to discuss my conversation. Jackie had seemed pleasant enough on the phone, but now I was sitting in the waiting area with my knees knocking. Looking back, I don't know how it was possible, but Steve and Cody completely understood where I was coming from. They even got a laugh or two out of me when I was not in a good place mentally. Through the process, the staff at Rayman & Knight was there for every question, thought, and helpful tip all the way through. Steve and Cody, the attorneys, clearly know the laws surrounding bankruptcy and utilized every legal method available to provide relief for myself and family. Jackie was always very friendly and Jo, the paralegal, was a God-send. The entire staff is extremely professional, but perhaps even more impressive, very human. I did not anticipate the level of calm I felt by hiring Rayman & Knight to help me through this process. If you're even wondering if filing BK is in your best interest and all the possible ramifications, it would be a mistake not to call Rayman & Knight. They were able to walk me through my options and help us, and I know they can help you too. Oh... and if you're wondering about the end result... it was better than we could have imagined. Bankruptcy is designed for good people that have had some tough things happen in their lives. I encourage you to stop beating yourself up like I did and pick up the phone. Peace is on the other side of the phone. Steve Lewis