Bankruptcy Blogs

Several news outlets here and here are now reporting that Joseph Diekemper, whose wife's guilty plea to conspiracy to conceal assets in bankruptcy case we reported here, is due in court tomorrow for a change of plea hearing.  He is expected to plead guilty under a plea agreement wi

Margaret Diekemper pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Illinois to conspiring with her husband, Joseph "Joey" Diekemper, to conceal assets in their bankruptcy case.  Twenty-two other felony counts will be dismissed as part of plea bargain.  The couple was indicted in June on numerous bankruptcy felony counts inlcuding concealing assets in their multi-million dollar bankruptcy case.  Joseph is incarcerated while awaiting trial on the bankruptcy fraud charges pending against him because a judge revoked his bond for weapons violations.

Does a false declaration made knowingly and fraudulenly in a bankruptcy case need to be "material" to constitute a bankruptcy crime?  The statute prohibiting such statements (18 U.S.C.

Now that debtors must produce copies of their tax returns in bankruptcy cases as part of the bankruptcy laws' already numerous disclosure requirements it was only a matter of time before we began to see some criminal cases built on debtors' making or using false writings (or documents containing false statements) within an executive branch matter in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001.