With $11 million in tax debt and accusations of hiding assets from the
IRS, Teresa and Joe Giudice are now being accused of bankruptcy fraud
and the bankruptcy trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis is asking that their Chapter
7 bankruptcy discharge be denied.
DeAngelis accuses the couple of filing schedules and statements they knew
were “not true and correct” and making numerous false oaths
and “false sworn testimony.”
They also allegedly failed to disclose numerous substantial assets and
presented false income tax returns to the bankruptcy court.
In the complaint, DeAngelina noted that Teresa signed a $250,000 deal for
her “Skinny Italian” book a week before filing for bankruptcy,
but she didn’t include that among her assets.
Among the alleged undisclosed assets are Joe’s bank account, two pieces
of real estate property, and the couples’ vehicles.
One of the biggest sources of contention has been the $250,000 book deal
that Giudice allegedly signed before filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If it
is true that Giudice signed this book deal before filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy
and failed inform the court she could face the dismissal of her case or
worse. If a debtor filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy knows that they are receiving
income in the future they must disclose this to the bankruptcy court.
For example, if a debtor filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy receives a job offer
right before filing bankruptcy, they need to let their bankruptcy attorney
know. The same goes for expected inheritances or even lottery winnings.
If the debtor reasonably suspects that they will be receiving income in
the near future before filing bankruptcy they must disclose this information
to the bankruptcy court.