A common form that bankruptcy fraud can take is that of a filing party assuming the identity of an unsuspecting victim to commence a bankruptcy case. The filing party may be trying to conceal an elaborate fraud in which the filer took out loans or obtained credit cards using stolen personal information, or trying to avoid foreclosure by transferring property to a friend or loved one and then commencing a bankruptcy case without their knowledge. The victim may not learn that a bankruptcy petition has been filed in his or her name until much later, when applying for a credit card, attempting to refinance a home, or seeking to finance the purchase of a vehicle.
In their CLE-accredited webinar “Debtors-in-Pretension: Identify Theft in Bankruptcy Proceedings,” Maggie Bordeaux, Supervising Senior Staff Attorney of Consumer Law at Public Counsel, and SulmeyerKupetz Attorney Steven Werth will discuss the steps that practitioners should take when clients approach them with situations of identity theft in bankruptcy proceedings. The webinar will address:
- Steps attorneys should take when clients approach them about a fraudulent bankruptcy filing.
- Practice tips for filing a motion to reopen a closed bankruptcy case and expunge a fraudulent filing.
- How to ensure credit reporting agencies remove the fraudulent bankruptcy from their records.
