Bankruptcy Clerk Commits Fraud - Our clients not affected
Wow! What a month. I recently ran across a newspaper clipping; “a longtime bankruptcy court clerk who routinely dealt with people facing mounting debt is accused of giving out false information so she could pocket their money” - Chicago Sun-Times, 9/13/05! The good news for our clients is that none of them were taken advantage of by this scheme.
Allegedly, this woman who had worked at the bankruptcy clerk’s office in Chicago and was making $69,000 per year on her job was arrested when the FBI sent an undercover witness who approached the woman saying he had just filed for bankruptcy and needed help because he feared losing his house. Instead of telling him that his bankruptcy filing alone would be enough to stop the sale of his home, she took $500 from him to “block the foreclosure.” She even staged a fake phone call to Chase Financial pretending to arrange the transaction. The call had to be fake because the name the undercover officer used was fake and there was no such mortgage she said she looked up. This clerk had also taken $5,000 in 2002, allegedly, from another debtor to “stop foreclosure” on her house.
This situation illustrates why it is important to have quality, responsible bankruptcy attorneys as you consider whether or not to file for bankruptcy. It’s not that you will fall victim to fraud if you don’t have bankruptcy lawyers. The problem is that these people were vulnerable to the court employee because they didn’t understand how the process worked and didn’t understand their rights under bankruptcy. Instead, they asked for help from someone other than an attorney and they were taken.
Remember, your attorney is doing more then typing paperwork. An attorney is offering you knowledge of how the laws work and representation to deal with creditors who you perceive may be “ignoring” the bankruptcy. This is one reason among many why you should hire a lawyer to help you through this process. While you may be very adept at preparing the paperwork, would you know what to do if a creditor “ignored” your bankruptcy paperwork?
Given the bankruptcy law changes and examples like above, the investment in quality legal representation is worth every penny. If you feel overwhelmed by debt with little hope of getting out, please give one of the firm’s attorneys a call. We can help you analyze your situation and propose solutions we can deliver for you.
