NEWPORT — The owner of a Newport building and property maintenance firm who suddenly shut down his business after he was accused of diverting millions of dollars from his largest client for his personal use has filed for bankruptcy.
James and Gina Bruss claim liabilities of $8.7 million and assets of $2.4 million and list a total of 84 creditors, according to the Sept. 12 petition for Chapter 7 protection filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire.
Their chief assets are identified as an inn in Bedford, N.H., valued at $1.35 million and a fleet of 11 fully-owned vehicles — including a Porsche 911, a BMW 430i and Cadillac XT6 — collectively valued at $460,000, the petition shows.
Valerie Mars, a billionaire member of the family that owns candy and snack food maker Mars Inc., sued James Bruss and several of his associates in August. The lawsuit alleges she paid them millions of dollars for real estate development projects that were either never undertaken or left incomplete and that the costs of which were grossly inflated.
Within days of the lawsuit being filed in Merrimack County Superior Court, Bruss shut down his property management firm Relax & Co. and its affiliated entities, leaving more than 100 employees at the Newport-based business suddenly without jobs.
As is typical with a bankruptcy filing during a pending lawsuit, the Merrimack court has issued a “stay” order, temporarily suspending Mars’ litigation until the bankruptcy proceeding is disposed of or one of the parties requests the lawsuit to be “reactivated.”
The bankruptcy filing, which states that James and Gina Bruss are no longer married, reported that so far in 2025, James Bruss had gross income of $242,115, and Gina Bruss had gross income of $94,615.
The couple reported a combined income of about $260,000 for 2024, according to the filing.
As allowed under state law, the Brusses are seeking to protect certain assets from seizure or forced sale, including two Volkswagens vehicles, personal items, a savings account of $20,000 and various retirement accounts.
Peter Tamposi, identified as the Brusses’ attorney in the bankruptcy filing, did not respond to an email for comment.
In her lawsuit, Mars, a noted philanthropist and conservationist, alleges she has suffered between $8 million to $10 million in damages and costs as a result of Bruss failing to do work his firms were engaged to perform on four real estate projects in the Lake Sunapee and Sutton, N.H., areas.
Bruss billed Mars a total of $17.9 million for work on the four projects, the lawsuit alleges. The projects include two Mars was developing for public benefit — one at Lake Sunapee in New London and the other at Blaisdell Lake and Billings Pond in Sutton, N.H. The diversion and misappropriation of Mars’ funds have negatively impacted projects that were “earmarked by Valerie for the development of recreation centers to be donated to charitable entities and the general public,” the lawsuit said.
