"I was just before going bankrupt," Mr. Boynton said.

His $9,057 check included benefits for November, December, January and February.

Mr. Boynton, 61, is one of 23 former employees of Spartan International Inc. whose long-term disability checks were cut off after the company abruptly closed five textile plants last year. The checks stopped after October because the insurance company that administered the long-term-disability account hadn't been paid since the plants closed in May.

The insurance company notified the former employees that the October check would be their last, even though $1.6 million in employee contributions was still in a South Carolina bank account.

In February, the trustee of the Spartan International bankruptcy case in South Carolina said the money was not the property of the bankruptcy estate and could be used to resume payments to former employees.

Augusta lawyer Byrd Warlick, who was appointed receiver to disburse long-term disability checks, expects to mail March checks in late April.

Lawyers for Mr. Boynton and two other former King Mill employees filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to appoint a receiver to disburse the money. The judge appointed Augusta lawyer Byrd Warlick.

Meanwhile, Mr. Boynton, former plant Manager Frank Rachels, supervisor Clyde Williams Sr. and other disabled employees found themselves in desperate financial straits.

Mr. Rachels had to sell his home in Augusta's Hill section and move to south Augusta.

All three men had worked at King Mill for 30 years and, along with 1,200 other Spartan employees, lost their health insurance and retirement funds overnight. When their disability checks stopped, they spent their savings, they said.

Mr. Rachels blames Spartan management and General Electric Capital Corp., Spartan's principal creditor, which had the company's assets put into receivership to be sold to pay a $35 million debt before Spartan was forced into involuntary bankruptcy.

"If Spartan International and GE Capital had been concerned about the Spartan employees, the problems and the harm that we have suffered would never have occurred in the first place," Mr. Rachels said.

Telephone calls to GE Capital's general counsel and GE's spokesman seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.

Johnny Poteat, a former Spartan vice president and technical director, said the company failed because it was "ill managed the last several years."

"If it had been properly managed, it could still be in business," said Mr. Poteat, who now lives in Lincolnton, Ga.

In addition to losing his health insurance and retirement benefits, Mr. Poteat, 63, lost the benefits of a life insurance policy that would have paid him $1,500 a month when he reached 65, he said.

Mr. Poteat's $17,784 disability check puts him in better financial shape, but he's concerned about future payments.

"I don't know how long this fund they found will last," he said. "I worked for Spartan 30 years. I had many opportunities to leave. You look back over your life - and you know you're going to make some mistakes - but I never did think it would come to this."

Mr. Warlick said he expects the money to last for about two years.

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylviaco@augustachronicle.com.