QUESTION
How bad is it to lie to a federal bankrupcy court?
Asked on Jul 07th, 2011 on Bankruptcy - Mississippi
More details to this question:
I know a person who lied about their income, place of residence and a couple of other things when they filed for chap. 13 bankruptcy. Am I in trouble for having this knowledge and not reporting it? Who do I report it to? Is this kind of thing (being deceptive to the bankruptcy court) common practice? Is this considered a bad crime? Please, Help.
12 ANSWERS
Lying in bankruptcy court is a federal court is a federal crime punishable by large fines and prison time. The United States Department of Justice and FBI investigate all bankruptcy fraud.
Answered on Jul 04th, 2013 at 1:46 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Seattle, WA
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Symmes Law Group, PLLC
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If you lie on your bankruptcy petition or in court you risk not receiving a discharge of all of your debts.
Answered on Jul 04th, 2013 at 12:30 AM
Bankruptcy Decision Attorney serving San Diego, CA
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Law Office of Daniel G. Shay
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Such offenses would be reported to the US Trustee in your district.
Answered on Jul 14th, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Herndon, VA
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Maureen O'Malley
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It's serious to lie. If you know of a lie, you should report it to the trustee. It's not common practice to lie.
Answered on Jul 11th, 2011 at 10:02 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Concord, CA
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William Rubendall Attorney at Law
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Lying in bankruptcy is a criminal action. The penalty can be five years in prison or a fine of $250,000 or both.
Answered on Jul 11th, 2011 at 9:57 AM
William C. Gosnell
BANKRUPTCY FRAUD IS A FEDERAL FELONY AND CARRIES ONE YEAR IN FEDERAL PRISON. TELL THE PERSON TO HIRE A CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER IMMEDIATELY. TELL THE PERSON TO HAVE HIS BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY AMEND HIS PLEADINGS IMMEDIATELY TO GET EVERYTHING CORRECTED.
Answered on Jul 11th, 2011 at 9:09 AM
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Beaverton, OR
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Law Offices of Alexzander C. J. Adams, PC
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Yikes. To start, It is a federal crime to lie to a bankruptcy court. A handy link to the bankruptcy crime statutes is here: http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/ust_org/ustp_manual/volume5/vol5ch08.htm. As you can see, the bankruptcy court takes this VERY seriously. Without knowing your individual situation, I can't tell you if you are in legal trouble. In regards to reporting it, be careful. If you do report it to the office of the trustee and if you are incorrect, the debtor may be able to sue you for defamation.
Answered on Jul 08th, 2011 at 1:21 PM
This is a serious crime and would cause the debtor considerable trouble. If you are asking if you have a duty to "rat out" your friend the debtor, so long as you are not helping the debtor to commit a crime or furthering in the perpetuation of a crime, I do not believe you have a duty to disclose any information. However, if you benefit from the crime you may have a problem. Thanks for tuning in!
Answered on Jul 08th, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Information provided doesn't create an attorney/client privilege nor constitute an offer of services and is only general responses to hypotheticals
Perjury (lying under oath) and bankruptcy fraud are serious felonies (serious crimes) that are punishable by fines and prison and can also disqualify the person from the bankruptcy discharge or the case could be dismissed. You have no legal obligation to report it if you are not personally involved but if you want to report it as a good citizen then you can address your letter to the Chapter 13 Trustee and/or the U.S. Trustee's office in the area where the case was filed. Fraud and perjury are not common but it happens occasionally. You should not report it unless you have some evidence you can present and not just speculation or a guess.
Answered on Jul 07th, 2011 at 4:36 PM
Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Attorney serving San Diego, CA
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Law Office of Asaph Abrams
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It's a felony; the bankruptcy petition states as follows: Penalty for making a false statement or concealing property: Fine of up to $500,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years or both. 18 U.S.C. 152 and 3571.
Answered on Jul 07th, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Glen Edward Ashman
Perjury in bankruptcy is serious and hopefully rare. The potential penalty is 5 years in jail and fines of $250,000, plus revocation of any discharge, and dismissal of the case. The person to report it to would be the Chapter 13 Trustee for that case, and, depending on how many things were false, one might also call the US Attorney in Atlanta. While we don't have all the facts, in some cases your concealment of a crime could be a crime.
Answered on Jul 07th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
Samuel Lee Tucker
Perjury is a federal felony. Very bad crime. Not reporting the perjury is a felony itself. Here is the federal law: Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
Answered on Jul 07th, 2011 at 2:15 PM