Mid-West Choppers Files for Bankruptcy

Galesburg PD is flooded with complaints by people who have paid for motorcycles

GALESBURG IL- Complaints are mounting against a bankrupt custom motorcycle shop that went belly-up before finishing several $25,000 to $60,000 bikes, and customers who might never see their money again are in a panic.

Mid-West Choppers, 150 W. Main St., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Friday and owners Chip and Chrissy Miyler filed for personal bankruptcy the next day, according to Barry Barash, attorney for the couple.

The Galesburg Police Department has been swamped with calls and complaints from people who say they paid Miyler but never received their motorcycles.

Investigator Thomas LaFollette said Monday he is looking into 12 such cases, including one from Joerg Schaefel, who said he paid Miyler $60,549 for a custom motorcycle that he can see sitting unfinished in the shop but can't take.

"I'm pretty much screwed," said Schaefel, a native of Germany who is currently working in the United States.

"The thing is sitting in there, and I can't get it out."

Schaefel said the contract he signed with Miyler in November 2004 required the bike to be finished no later than April. Schaefel said he owns the title to the bike, has paid in full and has been talking to attorneys about the situation.

'Just a major bump'

Miyler said Monday he is confident the unfinished bikes can still be built and said he is working on a solution.

"I'd like to think that this is just a major bump in the road for us," Miyler said. "We are trying to work it out. I still feel the bikes will get built."

Miyler said his 5-year-old business had recently suffered because of an ailing economy.

"The economy got to a point where large-ticket items, especially luxury items, are getting less and less affordable," Miyler said of his bikes that sold from between $25,000 and in some cases near $100,000.

Miyler's shop recently received national attention for the custom motorcycles, including a possible movie deal, magazine covers and winning a national bike build-off.

"The slow down definitely affected us. We did the best we could as long as we could. It just wasn't working out for any of us."

Ted Sjurseth, founder of America's 9-11 Foundation, based in Virginia, commissioned a Sept. 11-themed bike from Miyler, which was built and raffled off for the charity on Aug. 20 in New York. But the fate of a second tribute bike Sjurseth said he paid Miyler $30,000 for is now in question.

"I handed him a check for $30,000," Sjurseth said. "That money is gone."

Sjurseth and others are looking into the possibility of fraud or theft because they say Miyler asked for large sums of money to finish the bikes just before filing bankruptcy.

Complaints on file

The Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau said three claims had been filed against the company in the past 12 months. LaFollette said no criminal charges have been filed but if the claims of theft are true, charges could be brought at a later time.

Sjurseth said former Mid-West Choppers employees said they would finish the bike. He plans to fly into Galesburg on Friday to meet with attorneys.

Barash said allowing Miyler to finish the bikes is the best solution for everyone involved because their current condition is no use to anyone.

"If they have an auction there, what is the stuff worth?" Barash said of the eight frames with gas tanks still in the closed shop. "The answer is not much."

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy means liquidation, whereas a Chapter 11 means reorganization, Barash said. A bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for noon on Dec. 16 in the Knox County Courthouse. Any creditor to the company is allowed to attend, Barash said.

Meanwhile, Miyler is cautiously optimistic about his future in the motorcycle-building business.

"I think it's going to give us a black eye," he said, but "ourselves, our customers and our creditors can all work together. I like to think there's some hope at the end of this."