bankruptcy proceedings, Wilkinson admitted that his liabilities exceeded his assets by $300 million. During the proceedings, it was revealed that Wilkinson had been financially insolvent since 1992 and was operating a Ponzi scheme, paying his creditors with money borrowed from others rather than his own profits. He had paid no federal income taxes since 1991. At his deposition in June 2001, Wilkinson invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination over 140 times. Wallace's Bookstore was liquidated for just over $31 million, and ecampus.com was sold for $2.5 million. Wilkinson's wife, Martha, also filed for bankruptcy; his sons were forced to sell their homes to repay loans made to them by their father. During the bankruptcy proceedings, the Wilkinsons moved from Lexington to Naples, Florida. While in Lexington for a deposition on May 26, 2002, Wilkinson began to experience chest pains and was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital. Doctors diagnosed him with arterial blockages and scheduled him for arterial bypass surgery. Before the surgery could be performed, however, doctors discovered another lymphatic mass. Wilkinson began taking chemotherapy, and doctors removed the mass on June 4, 2002. Wilkinson was placed on life support on June 26, 2002. He suffered a stroke on July 4, 2002. Wilkinson had previously instructed his family not to continue life support after all hope of recovery was gone; accordingly, they decided to withdraw life support, and Wilkinson died on July 5, 2002. He was originally buried at Blue Grass Memorial Gardens in Nicholasville, Kentucky. In August 2002, his coffin was moved to a locked mausoleum at Sarasota Memorial Park in Sarasota, Florida; the family chose July 4, 2002 as the date of death for his marker. The city of Liberty dubbed the stretch of the U.S. 127 bypass that runs through the city Wallace Wilkinson Boulevard in 1987. See also Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, an important U.S. Supreme Court case that arose from the bankruptcy of Wilkinson's bookstore company. References Bibliography Further reading 1941 births 2002 deaths Campbellsville University alumni Democratic Party governors of Kentucky Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky People from Casey County, Kentucky Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky Pyramid and Ponzi schemes University of Kentucky alumni People from Liberty, Kentucky 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople