The SS FNBC

Not particularly seaworthy it turns out.

State Rep. Blake Miguez’s family business is in jeopardy after it allegedly defaulted on a multimillion-dollar loan that originated with First NBC Bank, which collapsed last year.

The succeeding note holder, a Denver-based limited liability company, is now moving to seize two offshore supply vessels owned by Iberia Marine Service, which Miguez’s father founded more than four decades ago. The foreclosures could force the company to dissolve, according to court filings.

Miguez is kind of the Bobby Newport of Southwest Louisiana.  Although, if I read this correctly, it looks like his company is technically insulated from the whatever debt the one he inherited/bought or whatever this convoluted arrangement was supposed to be.... whatever that is liable for. 

Miguez served as president of Iberia Marine, and is now the chief executive of SeaTran Marine, a joint-venture that includes Iberia Marine. SeaTran bills itself on its website as the largest company of its kind on the Gulf Coast, with 19 vessels. The website trumpets its leader’s status as a state lawmaker.

Miguez’s father, Steven Miguez, personally guaranteed the First NBC loan, according to a business loan agreement filed in court records. The loan was secured with eight vessels, two of which are subject to federal foreclosure proceedings in Louisiana and California. They include the largest in SeaTran's fleet, the 205-foot Mr. Steven, as well as the 172-foot Lady Eve.

Iberia Marine relies on revenue from Mr. Steven to stay in business, and seizure of the boat “will definitely terminate all agreements and bareboat charters,” Steven Miguez said in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration. That would force the company to dissolve, according to the declaration.

A lawyer for SeaTran, Stewart Peck, emphasized that neither that company nor Blake Miguez are defendants on any of the claims involving the loan. Iberia Marine, however, is a member of the SeaTran corporate entity, according to state records.

Anyway, it's another politically connected rich guy/family to add to the list of politically connected rich people dragged so far in the saga of the sinking of the FNBC money club.