Sacramento Bankruptcy Bust

A recent Sacramento bankruptcy bust shed light on one of the basics of bankruptcy.  Tell the truth!  Filing bankruptcy is a powerful tool.  It allows you to eliminate debt you are unable to afford.  After filing for bankruptcy creditors can no longer come after you.  Lawsuits, collection letters, wage garnishments and even creditor phone calls must come to an end when a bankruptcy is filed.  Sounds good, right?  Well for those in need, it is.

But with the relief bankruptcy affords comes responsibility.  You are obligated, under penalty of perjury, to be honest in your paperwork when you file for bankruptcy.  This includes disclosing all your debts.  It also includes revealing your assets.  All of them.  A Sacramento resident who filed for bankruptcy didn't do this.  This Sacramento bankruptcy bust was revealed in a recent Sacramento Bee story.  He didn't list all his debts.  And perhaps more damming, he didn't list all his assets.

Before this man filed for bankruptcy, he acquired lots of debt.  Hundreds of thousands in credit card debt.  With his borrowed money he bought real estate.  This wouldn't be a problem if he payed the debt back.

 Or even if he intended to repay the debt.  But he planned neither.  When he filed for

bankruptcy he didn't disclose his new debt or assets.  That is a crime.  A federal criminal, punishable by years in prison.  That's exactly what happened in this Sacramento bankruptcy bust.

Is this a cautionary tale?  Maybe for some.  But doubtful for most.  The message, though, is to be honest in filing for bankruptcy.  Nobody wants to be the next Sacramento bankruptcy bust.  Simply tell the truth and avoid that fate.  Contact my office for a free consultation if you are in need of debt relief and considering filing for bankruptcy here in Sacramento.  Make sure you don't become the next Sacramento Bankruptcy bust!