Bank loses key ruling in CyberNET bankruptcy case

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) -- A judge in Grand Rapids says Huntington Bank could owe as much as $73 million in a bankruptcy case related to fraud at a high-tech company. Huntington lent money to Grand Rapids-based CyberNET. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Hughes says the bank should have known that CyberNET and its affiliates were committing fraud and raised a flag about the problems. Huntington said last Friday that an appeal is likely. A bankruptcy trustee is trying to recover millions of dollars for finance companies that had lent money to CyberNET for computer servers and other equipment. The money instead was used for a lavish lifestyle enjoyed by owner Barton Watson and his wife. Watson killed himself in 2004 after an FBI raid at CyberNET. His wife, Krista Watson, was sent to prison. Published: Tue, Mar 22, 2011