Finding Bankruptcy Fraud
By reading this post you are going to discover how to find bankruptcy fraud. As we are all from United States, let’s begin by mentioning that the legal standards required for locating such a federal offense are provided by the government itself. The title that you should all know about, entitled “11” represents the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, while title “18” deals with all possible criminal actions. In both cases, titles apply direct to the felony called bankruptcy fraud, something that is considered a pretty serious crime and is punished with a fee of about $250k US dollars (we have talked about this previously) or up to five years in the federal prison.
The presence of a scheme involving bankruptcy fraud is directly determined by the federal judges, who are responsible for sentencing people. However, when dealing with the actual case, parties involved in this process, either debtors or creditors might begin various review actions which can delay the happening of the actual punishment. It might also happen that one of the parties who appear to be really interested may send a motion in written form where they ask the bankruptcy judge to hear what they have to say additionally. The laws of United States of America allow every citizen to report any suspected fraud directly to the Justice Department of the U.S Government.
In order to be able to find bankruptcy fraud and realize how to deal with it you are going to need to be aware of certain instructions that we are definitely going to share here with you, for free. In my opinion, conducting an asset research is crucial. Being able to realize in advantage if any assets are possible for reimbursement of bankruptcy fraud is what determines the actual outcome. Many create debts by fraud, yet they risk a lot. Money seems too sweet for them and they can’t stand the temptation of doing so. These criminal debts are often a general subject of discharge; nevertheless, the rehabilitation of certain damages is based upon the existence of assets for each particular case. You are not required to become a specialist in this particular domain, but being able to understand whether your precious time and the required costs are partially justified is a must of this type of work.
The next step is to carefully review all the bankruptcy documents that you have found. There is a set of official forms that every debtor who feels the need to file Chapter 13, 7 or eleven must always complete; that’s why you always know where to start your investigation. In these forms you are about to find certain aspects related to the assets and debts owned by those who appear to be debtors and who declared bankruptcy. These forms aren’t legal for presenting to the court unless signed with the clerk’s office for public monitoring. Knowing that the debtor’s Statement of Financial Affairs always contains information about older existing partnerships, assets, accounts, transfers of name, financial records, trusts, etc is very important when conducting such a case.
Do you know what to do with the bankruptcy testimonial? You have to attentively review it and note down in case something is not clear. A person who is considered a debtor and has declared bankruptcy should always go for a 341 meeting with those people who invested in his business, his creditors. Usually, the person who is in big … debt is required to swear that the accuracy of the data he is about to share is maximum. While these meetings are held, people who are handling the particular case of bankruptcy attentively check all the information filed. It’s the right of the creditors to post all the questions or try to retrieve all the information that might seem suspect about the debtor why he is under oath. Planning to attend all the possible proceedings in court is extremely important because debtors can also testify during various other hearings that are allowed by the court and which are categorized as adversary actions.
If you are doing everything right, you will certainly have access to all the records gathered by the court. This is very important; this appears to be your only full database. Calling the clerk’s office for each particular court aspect that can offer some valuable information is also possible in case you feel so. When performing an asset search, you must track down all the countries and particular places where the person who filed for bankruptcy lived in the past several years (from 2 to 5 years usually). Also, there are many additional records that might contain some valuable information that can be of great used during your research for finding any proof of bankruptcy fraud. In your investigation you should include the collection of suits in county court, possible divorce cases, any criminal records, information from superior courts or even maybe other prior bankruptcy proceedings. If you track a person with being involved in previous bankruptcy cases you might discover his secret of earning money these days, especially during the economical recession.
Public records also need to be attentively analyzed. A lot of good information is located there. Target everything related to registration of business corporations or companies, records of real estate purchase, finance statements when doing your asset research. You might come up with certain facts that you had no clue about previously. This can be found when doing your investigation in the existing financial records of the county courthouse and those kept by the authorities of the state the debtor used to live in.
Nowadays, many private records can be easily accessed, if you pay a certain amount of money. Professional private investigators can help you with doing something like this, if you pay them of course. There are different ways one can qualify for this kind of service. However, when you pay what is really necessary there is no problem. I never had any issues, people are usually eager to help when everything is done legally. Research all the information attached to deposit bank accounts, various commercial transactions, the credit report of the debtor, his or her credit cards accounts and many more. Make copies of every file and piece of paper that you can find. You are going to need it later. Once again, pay close attention to commercial transactions (you’ll thank me later).
Interviewing some of the third parties which are still alive can come up with nuances that you never even though about. Most persons with knowledge that can refer as first hand might be of great used for testifying in court. You can also simultaneously interview creditors and make comparison of the notes in order to be able to determine the truth.
Verification of the fraud, this is one crucial aspect. Did it really occur when you thought so? Investigate the past period from two, five or even ten years of assets transactions. Finding proof of property concealment, hidden income, financial records, any false oath or providing false financial statements, transferring of certain real estate with the price much lower in comparison with the real value, getting any credit without the intention to return the money to the creditors is that type of information that is going to make you a winner in finding bankruptcy fraud when even other specialists can’t do it.
My personal final tip is not to hire a research company and do it on your own if this is a very important matter to you since most of these services, especially the private ones, can be bribed. I’ve personally dealt with such issues.