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- Title
A STUDY ON BANKRUPTCY CRIME PROSECUTION UNDER TITLE 18: IS THE PROCESS UNDERMINING THE GOALS OF THE BANKRUPTCY SYSTEM?
- Authors
CLEMENT, LEIA A.
- Abstract
The bankruptcy system was devised to provide debtors with a fresh start and to provide creditors equitable shares of assets in satisfaction of the debts they are owed. When debtors, creditors, trustees, or others involved the bankruptcy process compromise the system by committing bankruptcy fraud, the consequences are numerous. In order to protect the important interests of the government and the federal bankruptcy system's paramount interest in preserving the honest administration of bankruptcy proceedings and ensuring a distribution to creditors, the federal bankruptcy system depends upon the United States Trustee Program to identify bankruptcy fraud and upon the United States Attorney's Office to take appropriate action under title 18 of the United States Code. First, this Comment discusses the laws pertinent to bankruptcy fraud in depth and details the United States Trustee Program and its responsibility to identify and investigate bankruptcy fraud in coordination with the United States Attorney's Office and other law enforcement agencies. Second, it then seeks to provide insight into the factors that may affect whether a case is chosen to be prosecuted or dismissed. Third, it will then provide an analysis of the available data compiled on bankruptcy fraud cases from the fiscal years of 2010 and 2011 with respect to the following factors: specific bankruptcy fraud criminal violations, other United States Code violations, the identity of the defendants, the types of bankruptcy filing involved, the verdicts, and the sentences resulting from guilty verdicts. Finally, this Comment concludes that bankruptcy fraud is not being sufficiently prosecuted independently of other United States Code violations and as a result, creditors, debtors, the government, the court, and the public are harmed and the policies underlying the bankruptcy system are undermined.
- Subjects
CORPORATE bankruptcy lawsuits; DEBTOR &; creditor -- Lawsuits &; claims; UNITED States Attorney's Office; UNITED States. Bankruptcy; LAW enforcement agencies
- Publication
Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal, 2015, Vol 31, Issue 2, p409
- ISSN
0890-7862
- Publication type
Article