PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A hearing has been scheduled on a motion that asks a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to appoint an examiner to investigate factors leading to FairPoint Communications Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.

A group of creditors owed more than $550 million wants to know if FairPoint's top managers misrepresented the company's prospects for recovery and are trying to profit from the reorganization.

The creditors are also questioning the company's $23 million dividend payout in January just as the company's financial problems were mounting and another $15 million payment to the private consulting firm responsible for installing its problematic computer systems.

In a motion filed Oct. 30 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City, the group of creditors says FairPoint filed for bankruptcy after repeatedly claiming it was addressing its operational problems, pursuing cost-cutting measures and experiencing revenue growth.

"Whether as a result of calculated obfuscation or simple incompetence, it is clear that (FairPoint's) public outlook and business plan have been unreliable from day one — beginning with their ill-fated leveraged buyout of Verizon's northern New England wire-line operations and ending with their filing of a cram-down plan of reorganization," the motion reads.

A hearing has been set for Nov. 18.

In a statement to the Portland Press Herald, the company said it adamantly disputes the allegations and would deal with them through the court process.

FairPoint, based in Charlotte, N.C., operates phone companies in 18 states. Its largest holdings are in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where it bought Verizon Communications' landline and Internet assets last year for $2.3 billion.

The company voluntarily filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 26 after agreeing on a deal with banks that would lower its debt from $2.7 billion to $1 billion.

The motion seeking the appointment of an examiner was filed by private equity firms and other unsecured creditors that loaned the company money. The noteholders complain that FairPoint's proposed reorganization plan squeezes them out while giving secured creditors a 98 percent equity stake in the company.

The motion further says FairPoint's plan includes a long-term incentive plan that would give up to 10 percent of the company equity — potentially worth tens of millions of dollars — to top management in the form of restricted stock, incentive programs and stock options.

The motion also questions how the company selected David Hauser, a member of FairPoint board of directors, to succeed Gene Johnson as the company's chief executive officer. The motion says Hauser, who took over July 1, had no prior experience as a CEO or in the telecommunications industry other than on FairPoint's board.