If it makes you feel better, it's not like you could actually cash out that much BTC to real money.
There are currently bids of $500 and over for 721 BTC on bitstamp alone. That is money that has been deposited and is just sat there waiting for someone to offer their coins for sale for $500. That means OP could get over $350k for the 700 BTC he is owed. I don't understand why people think it's not possible to exchange BTC for dollars. It's very possible and happens all the time.