Former U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee Marika Tolz, who was convicted of misappropriating bankruptcy estate funds, was sentenced to 81 months in jail, followed by 3 years of supervised release, 18 months of which will be served under house arrest. For more than 20 years, Tolz had been a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee, required to collect property [...]

A debtor who was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in 2004 has been finally apprehended by authorities in Mexico and put in jail. Farris, 49, the former owner of Farris Gallery in St. Louis, was sentenced Friday to 14 months in prison for failure to appear. It ended an ordeal that began in July 2004, when [...]

After failing to report debts she incurred using stolen identities, Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor, Ramie Marston is facing bankruptcy fraud charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Al Rubega told those jurors that Marston filed for bankruptcy on March 12, 2009, listing her name and one alias; Robbie Marston. She signed under the penalties of perjury, he said, [...]

Court-appointed receiver and bankruptcy trustee Marika Tolz has been charged with felony fraud after allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars from bankruptcy cases since 2003. Tolz stands accused of misappropriating at least $16 million in several court cases, resulting in about $2.4 million in losses to parties in the cases. The alleged fraud and missing funds [...]

In a recent bankruptcy case here in Texas, a debtor failed to disclose a pending lawsuit judgment and other assets to the bankruptcy court.  The debtor's deception cost the creditors and the city money pushing the court to pursue judicial estoppel action against him.Kim Lubke, formerly an Arlington, Texas, firefighter, obtained a large verdict against [...]

Former auto mogul, Denny Hecker, confessed to having a friend buy back his dirt bike and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle at a bankruptcy court auction of his belongings. The Pioneer Press, citing court papers filed Monday, reports on Hecker's disclosure that he used the name of a fake business and a credit card belonging to a [...]

One of the things we like to remind debtors of is that they must avoid the perception that they are attempting to manipulate the bankruptcy system. Behaviors that every debtor should avoid: Quitting a job right before filing bankruptcy, leaving you with little or no income. The bankruptcy courts have been known to dismiss bankruptcy [...]

Bankruptcy fraud is any activity done by the debtor or someone acting on the debtor's behalf that's intended to manipulate the bankruptcy system to the benefit of the debtor and/or to the detriment of the creditors or the court system. There are three major types of bankruptcy fraud but all fraud does not fall into [...]

Gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal is reeling after a U.S. bankruptcy judge ordered the reopening of a 2009 bankruptcy filing by Deal's daughter Carrie Deal Wilder and his son-in-law Clint Wilder. A U.S. bankruptcy trustee sought to reopen the Wilders' case after it was revealed that Clint Wilder was not eligible for a discharge of his [...]

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a disbarred lawyer charged with forging bankruptcy court documents and stealing more than $200,000 from individuals seeking legal help.  The scheme that the disbarred attorney is allegedly involved with involves creating authentic looking; but phone bankruptcy court documents, with forged signatures of judges and time stamps. [...]