FYI, my own family member faced this problem. as family members,
we step in to help him with it although that was quite a few years
back and it was in Malaysia. So it could be different
1) He talked to the money lenders and agreed on a settlement
amount.
2) We forced him to take out a cash advance on his credit
cards. It covered a certain amount
3) He took another personal loan from a bank to cover the
remainder but it's slightly short
4) The rest, myself and sis chipped in to help
While he still is saddled with a lot of debt, at least it's to
banks. And it's his own doing so he'll have to live with it and eat
his medicine. But at least it is to banks who will not harm him
physically and will honor their contracts.
I suppose you'll have to eat your medicine too.