The concealment of assets, the falsification of records, or other deceptive conduct carried out in connection with a bankruptcy filing, intended to improperly discharge debt, hide property from creditors, or otherwise abuse the bankruptcy process for personal gain. Common forms include transferring or concealing assets before filing, filing multiple bankruptcy petitions under different identities, and knowingly submitting false financial statements to the court. In many jurisdictions it is treated as a serious offense because it undermines the integrity of a legal process designed to give genuinely insolvent debtors a fair and orderly resolution.
Facts
Classification CodeA white-collar crime and a federal offense in the United States. 1 Typical PenaltyBankruptcy fraud under 18 U.S.C. 157 is punishable by a fine, imprisonment of not more than five years, or both. 2 Elements of OffenseCommon criminal acts under bankruptcy statutes typically involve concealment of assets, concealment or destruction of documents, conflicts of interest, fraudulent claims, false statements or declarations, and fee fixing or redistribution arrangements; falsifications on bankruptcy forms often constitute perjury. 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Bankruptcy (Wikipedia)
WikipediaBankruptcy article, Fraud section, first sentence
Bankruptcy fraud is a white-collar crime most typically involving concealment of assets by a debtor to avoid liquidation in bankruptcy proceedings.
Fraud section, federal crime sentence
Bankruptcy fraud is a federal crime in the United States.
Fraud section, common criminal acts sentence
common criminal acts under bankruptcy statutes typically involve concealment of assets, concealment or destruction of documents, conflicts of interest, fraudulent claims, false statements or declarations, and fee fixing or redistribution arrangements.
View the Source 2. 18 U.S.C. 157 Bankruptcy Fraud (Cornell LII)
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute18 U.S.C. 157Quote, 18 U.S.C. 157
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.