NC vs. Great Specialty Products Update - Criminal Case Commences

I again visited the Wake County Courthouse this morning to see the latest in the ongoing saga of the state of NC against Paul Seelig/Great Specialty Products.  To see previous posts on this topic, please click here or click the gavel at the top right corner.

The last update on this case back on Feb 2nd detailed the granting of the preliminary injunction which shut down Great Specialty Products until further notice.  At the end of that case, Paul Seelig was arrested on 6 felony counts of Obtaining Property Under False Pretenses (i.e. fraudulently selling gluten bread as gluten free).  This morning's case was the first for the 6 felonies and a summary is provided below.

Paul Seelig was brought in front of the Judge and DA immediately asked the Judge if he could be appointed an attorney from the Public Defenders Office.  He began explaining his case and detailing how was too broke to pay a lawyer to defend him.  The DA then asked for the Judge to put Paul Seelig under oath so that his claims could be documented and he could be held accountable for lying to the court.  Paul Seelig detailed the following items about his finances.

• His brother (who was in court with him) loaned him $3,500 so he could post bail on the $100,000 bond set on Feb 2nd when he was originally arrested.  How does somebody get out of a bond that big for so little?
• He also said he was bailed out of another bond in Durham County which cost him $2,000.  He had already been ruled indignant in that case (writing bad checks) and been appointed a public defender.
• He has not been able to make any money with Great Specialty Products since the Feb 2nd injunction but did deposit $2,000 into the company bank account during January.
• He detailed that he has a $250,000 mortgage on his Durham County home of which he still owes the entire amount.
• He also detailed that he owns a Tahoe worth $15,000 but still owes $17,000 on the vehicle.
• His only assets are the $1495 monthly stipend from Social Security disability.

After hearing all of this, the Judge ruled Paul Seelig indigent and granted his request to be appointed a public defender.  The case was then continued until April 8th @ 9am.  Nice to see this scumbag not only pulling in Social Security money from taxpayers but now we'll also foot the bill for the public defender.  I'm sure folks won't care though as long as he ends up in the slammer.

NOTE: It was also mentioned in court that Paul Seelig has another appointment for a hearing on 3 additional felony Obtaining Property Under False Pretenses counts (grand total of 9).  These also are a result of the original Preliminary Injunction hearing brought against him by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.