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by Jim Holman.
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Bankrupt

Why an Abortionist Might Need Money

BY MARIA ELENA KENNEDY

Abortionist Nolan Jones is well known to Los Angeles-area pro-lifers. Jones has spent years moving around from clinic to clinic; sometimes working for himself and other times working for others, such as Bertha Bugarin, a non-physician clinic owner. Until recently, he worked at a clinic in the Latino suburb of Huntington Park. The clinic, Medical Clinic Latina Feminina, recently closed. In early September, a Leonella, who answers the phones for Nolan Jones, told me Jones had closed the clinic because "it was vandalized too often; he was spending too much money making repairs."

Jones' recent money woes are evident from court documents which were part of a bankruptcy petition he filed in 2003. In a statement to the court, Jones admitted that he had between 50 and 99 creditors, both secured and unsecured. According to a bankruptcy document that lists all of Jones' unsecured creditors, Jones and his wife have 36 credit cards, most of which have substantial balances. Schedule F of Jones' Chapter 7 Bankruptcy shows six American Express credit cards with over $41,000 in charges. Jones also lists two credit cards from Banco Popular, with a balance of $3,862.

Another credit card issued by Bank of America to Jones shows a total of $14,252.37. Seattle-based Capitol One has issued Jones six credit cards, which have a total of $7,144 on them. Jones' credit card issued by Chase Manhattan Bank shows $9,107 in charges. Jones' three Citibank cards show a balance of $14,373. Another charge he has with Citibank Vendor Finance is $1,513 for a credit card machine. Direct Merchants Bank shows a credit card balance of $4,506, and Jones' Discover card has a balance of $6,225. FNANB, which issues credit cards for Circuit City, has a balance on the Jones account for $1,891. Jones' Household Bank credit card shows a balance of $2,302. In addition to these credit cards, Jones has 12 other credit cards that show substantial balances. The combined balance for the two credit cards that Jones has with MBNA is $53,638.

The fact that Jones has such financial problems is of concern to pro-lifers. Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue West said that Jones' financial problems pose a problem for women who come to his clinic. "The fact that he has so much debt shows that he has a vested interest in making sure no woman gets away from his clinic. If a woman changes her mind about having the abortion, that's money out of his pocket."

Along with the credit card debt, Jones also has several judgments against him. One 1999 judgment against Jones is for $15,000 to a property management firm in Culver City. The receptionist at SLP Mangement, which has the judgment against Jones, said that she had not heard of him. "There have been a lot of changes here, and I haven't been here that long." Another judgment is for $25,000 for a 2001 medical malpractice lawsuit by Maria Bueno. There is an undated $32,751.35 judgment against him by Blue Keel Funding Link Corporation in Beverly Hills. Another medical malpractice lawsuit against Jones netted a $75,000 judgment against him in 1999.

In addition to the recorded judgments there are also pending judgments against Jones. One of these, which includes co-defendant Alicia Yanez, is by Vista Media for an advertising campaign in the Los Angeles Hispanic media market. According to the contract, which is an attachment to the November 2003 complaint for damages, Jones and Yanez had a DBA (Doing Business As) called Butterfly Medical Clinic in Los Angeles. The media campaign included a series of posters, presumably in Spanish. Nigel Bennett of Vista Media explained that the posters were smaller than billboards. "They are lower to the ground, and they are cheaper to produce," he said. The job was worth $52,500.

In addition to the posters, Vista ran radio airtime for Butterfly Clinic during the 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. slot, Monday through Sunday, on Radio KSSE at no additional charge. One of the parties to the action is Pacific Bell Directory, which is listed on Jones' Schedule F form as having an outstanding bill of $20,000. Vista Media's attorney, Raoul Roth, laughed when asked if he expected to get money from Butterfly for his client. "I don 't have a clue," he said. "The only reason I remember the case is because I just got a call on this recently, and I had to look up the file." Agoura Hills attorney Todd Haines, who represented Alicia Yanez, said through an assistant that "the file is in storage and will take a week to get it." Yanez defaulted on the lawsuit. Jones represented himself in the action, and the action against him was stayed because of the bankruptcy.

A 2000 pending judgment against Jones is from Balboa Collection Services of San Luis Obispo for services performed on a collection account. Schedule F shows an undated pending medical malpractice suit for a woman named Blanca Carrillo. In addition to the judgment on behalf of Carrillo, Jones has listed outstanding attorneys' fees in that lawsuit for $48,000. Jones has another undated pending judgment for money in the case of Israel Hernandez.

The United States Treasury is not immune from Jones' financial dealings. Jones lists $267,428.74 as money he owes the federal government for Medicare overpayment to him. Attempts to reach someone at the treasury department for comment were unsuccessful.

Jones also owes Alliance Medical Management Company $8,700 in back rent for space at 5300 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. This reporter went to that building in 2002 on another story ("Something Cheap and Discreet," April 2002 Mission) and saw a sign for Jones' Butterfly Medical Clinic. Jones also owes $2,700 for back rent on space in Huntington Park, the site of his former clinic.

There is a $65,000 personal loan to Jones from a woman in Redlands, where Jones had created a business called Nolan Jones and Associates in 1993. The personal loan was made in 1995. The public records associated with Nolan and Associates cite the operation as providing "miscellaneous business services." In 2000 Jones again got a personal loan from a Los Angeles couple for the sum of $30,000. In 2001, Jones incurred legal fees from Tomasina Reed, Esq., in Los Angeles for $4,500. The total amount that Jones owes unsecured creditors is $893,638.63. The California medical board is listed as being owed $9,555.50 in miscellaneous fees from 1999.

After his bankruptcy case was closed in 2004, Jones filed a motion to re-open it in order to avoid a lien on his property, which, he claims is exempt from Chapter 7 proceedings because of homestead protections. According to a creditor's attorney, "there is a limited exemption" to how much Jones can shelter. The motion was summarily granted by the court.

Jones now operates the Alliance Women's Medical Group in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. A call to Jones'clinic was answered by a male receptionist, who said that Jones is still performing abortions.

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