San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney with some information on California Bankruptcy Fraud Law

California Bankruptcy Fraud Law, like any fraud, is a crime. In this particular case, a violation of California Bankruptcy Fraud Law is not determined by the elements within the California Penal Code, but rather according to federal law. Fraud always includes an intent to deceive, which requires, by definition, knowledge that your actions or statements are untruthful or meant to induce a result you might not otherwise be entitled to. An example of how a violation of a California Bankruptcy Fraud Law might occur would be to willfully not list or wholly undervalue otherwise listed property in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (because all bankruptcy requires the debtor to list their assets). Because California’s exemption laws restrict the retention of certain property when a bankruptcy is filed, it would be a violation of the California Bankruptcy Fraud Law to not declare your ownership of, for instance, a 56 Chevy parked in your garage that is worth $10,000 because you are trying to save the car you drive every day from being sold as part of the bankruptcy. Since you are trying to take advantage of the situation by keeping that which you would otherwise not be able to keep, you have violated the California Bankruptcy Fraud Law. The consequences can be severe fines and even incarceration. Violations of fraud laws in the bankruptcy context are investigated by the FBI and are prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Simply put, do not commit violations of California Bankruptcy Fraud Law.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankruptcy attorney on bankruptcy fraud

Bankruptcy fraud is a serious matter. This website is the United States Trustees’ office webpage for reporting a bankruptcy fraud.

The reported case of Rhonda Marsalis is a bit disturbing: she faces up to 30 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines for, as it is reported by the local news in Jackson, Mississippi, obtaining “a mortgage of more than $250,000 and [filing] bankruptcy after learning foreclosure proceedings had been started less than a year after she received the loan.” Something else must be amiss here because filing a bankruptcy related to foreclosure is common, and is no way criminal. An actual, typical bankruptcy fraud case is that of Robert A. Grant in 2004. He created trusts and corporations to whom he transferred his assets in anticipation of bankruptcy, filed for bankruptcy, and afterwards distributed the property from those shell entities back to himself. He was sentenced to just under three years in federal prison. The current bankruptcy fraud case of former auto mogul Denny Hecker is in the media spotlight in Minnesota. He is accused of failing to report his true assets and faces 15 charges in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. The point is, bankruptcy fraud is taken very seriously by the United States government, and rightfully so. Bankruptcy is an outlet when faced with troubles. Those who abuse the system are asking for more leniency than the already lenient laws allow.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego bankkrupty lawyer sites bankruptcy fraud penalties

Bankruptcy fraud penalties are imposed as a result of the governmental viewpoint that bankruptcy fraud is a serious offense. This viewpoint is mainly that of the United States Department of Justice. The commission of bankruptcy fraud takes many forms. Much like other types of willful, malicious conduct, the bankruptcy fraud penalties can be very severe. For instance, the court can impose a financial sanction (or monetary penalty) against a debtor who has committed bankruptcy fraud. The actual bankruptcy fraud penalty – that is, the actual amount imposed – should relate to the severity of the conduct. The most common of the bankruptcy fraud penalties is the dismissal of a case by the court. This dismissal can be “with prejudice” or “without prejudice,” which affect the benefits that a bankruptcy can provide to a debtor. Criminal prosecution is also amongst the bankruptcy fraud penalties. Sentences can be up five years in prison and there can be a restitution/monetary aspect of the punishment as well. All in all, when you file for bankruptcy, do it right. The relief is there for you if you just ask. And whatever you do, learn from the above: bankruptcy fraud penalties can be severe.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surround cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!

A San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney provides an overview on bankruptcy fraud

The term “fraud” might immediately evoke thought of writing a bad check, using a stolen credit card, or taking advantage of vulnerable folks, like the elderly. This is common criminal fraud. Bankruptcy fraud is no different, however. All types of fraud are illegal acts with intent to commit that act. Bankruptcy fraud is merely governed by the federal Bankruptcy Code as opposed to criminal, or penal, codes. There are many ways to commit bankruptcy fraud.

Types of Bankruptcy Fraud

1. Disclosure Fraud: Firstly, the filing of a bankruptcy requires that a petition be prepared, and this petition lists all of your assets, all your debts, and various other personal information. The petition is signed under penalty of perjury, meaning that all the information contained within the petition is certified as true. If you knowingly fail to disclose all of your assets, or what property you have sold in the last few years, or what your true monthly expenses are, etc., then you have prepared a fraudulent petition. You can go to jail for this.

2. Bad Faith Fraud: Another type of bankruptcy fraud is where you knowingly use your credit cards in advance of filing for bankruptcy. For instance, if you take out a cash advance and then file for bankruptcy a week later, your filing is made in bad faith. In this circumstance, the debt will not be discharged, and you will owe it after your bankruptcy otherwise successfully concludes.

3. Petition Mills: This type of fraud is actually perpetrated by a third-party. It usually occurs in poor or urban areas where residents, responding to threats of eviction, respond to an advertisement promising to help the resident. What happens is that the resident provides the third-party all their personal information – under the guise of being helped – only to find that a bankruptcy has been filed in their name, unknowingly. This can land the third-party in jail, but will have the unfortunate side effect of also harming the resident’s credit and costing them money.

4. Multiple Filings: There are really two types of multiple filing fraud. The first type involves filing a case and then dismissing it (or having the court dismiss it) and then filing again. People might do this so as to take advantage of the automatic stay, whereby lenders and collectors are prevented from taking any action against someone who has filed bankruptcy. The law is now written in such a way as to deny an automatic stay when people file multiple times, but doing so with intent to take advantage of the law, and not actually proceed with the case, is fraudulent. The second type is where people file for bankruptcy in more than state. Or they file under a false name. This is done in an attempt to avoid having to turn over their property as part of the bankruptcy. This second type of bankruptcy fraud can land a person in jail.

In sum, bankruptcy fraud is fraud, plain and simple. Bankruptcy is a liberating option that helps get people back on their feet, and it should not be abused.

If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego County, including Carlsbad, San Diego and surrounding cities in San Diego County please contact us at (760) 579-7322 for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in our Carlsbad bankruptcy office. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!