The troubles keep piling up for Minecode, the Bellevue web development company that got into legal hot water last year. Last month, we reported that a landlord in Portland, Ore. is suing the firm for breach of contract for allegedly skipping out on an office lease. Now it's emerged that Minecode CEO Pradyumna Samal has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. An attorney for Samal says both Minecode and its agency Saltmine have closed down.

Samal lists assets of $930,366 and liabilities of $13.6 million, and has an estimated 50 to 99 creditors, according to a Jan. 26 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington (pdf, 74 pages). The list of unsecured creditors includes Bank of America, Source Forge, and T-Mobile.

Samal last year pleaded guilty to "computer intrusion" for his role in allegedly crippling the website of a client over a contract dispute. A federal court judge last April sentenced Samal to 90 days of home confinement, three years' probation, community service and "moral reconation therapy" over the incident, and Minecode itself was ordered to pay a fine and restitution (a Minecode project manager also received a fine and probation in the case).

Larry Feinstein, Samal's attorney in the bankruptcy proceeding, said Minecode and Saltmine were closed down just before Samal's bankruptcy filing Jan. 26. Edmund Wood, named as bankruptcy trustee, said he has not yet spoken to Samal, but said Samal is scheduled to be questioned under oath at a creditor meeting Feb. 25.

Minecode early last year said it employed more than 500 worldwide. Saltmine's website, which is still up, indicates it did work for big names such as Expedia, AT&T, and Zumiez.

Along with Minecode and Saltmine, Samal lists as businesses SMC Inc., described as a "shell corp," and Minebrain Inc., which was "formed but never operated" in 2008. I found a website for a firm called Minebrain, which appears to be fairly well developed and gives contact information in India.

When I called the number listed for Saltmine's Bellevue office earlier today, it rang to the Kenmore home of a woman named Elena Bresee, who said she has no connection to Saltmine. Bresee said she's been getting a call an hour for Saltmine for the past two weeks and has tried to reach the company, so far unsuccessfully, to get the phone number corrected.

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