Can I Go To Jail If I File Bankruptcy?

Many people have this common belief that filing bankruptcy is somehow tantamount to a crime.  Perhaps it is the undue influence of bill collectors who often say anything in an effort to collect a debt.  The truth is that simply by declaring bankruptcy one does not make himself eligible for jail.  However, you can go to jail if you commit bankruptcy fraud.  Bankruptcy fraud is usually going to center on not disclosing information that is requested by the bankruptcy code and/or the trustee, or committing fraud on such a scale that you are trying to perpetrate a fraud on the bankruptcy court.  

It is rare that people go to jail for bankruptcy fraud, but it is not unheard of.  However, in response to the original question, the intent of the original question, no.  Bankruptcy does not necessarily mean you go to jail.  We do not have debtor’s prisons anymore and the whole notion of a Dickensian society is no longer with us.