18 U.S.C. §157 Criminalizing “Fraudulent Involuntary Bankruptcy Petitions”
by Wayne M. Greenwald
Wayne Greenwald PC; New York
The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) introduced several new terms into the bankruptcy lexicon. These include “means test,” “chapter 15,” “health care ombudsman,” “debt-relief agency” and “family fisherman.” These new terms are defined either by the statute, prior case history or legislative intent.
BAPCPA also amended 18 U.S.C. §157 by incorporating the Involuntary Bankruptcy Improvement Act of 2005 (IBIA). 18 U.S.C. §157 now makes it a crime to file a “fraudulent involuntary bankruptcy petition.” However, the new offense is undefined, which will render it unwieldy if not ineffective.
A Short History of First International Bank of Grenada
by: Marcus Wide
PricewaterhouseCoopers; Halifax, N.S.
It was a call from one of the firm’s Caribbean practices that launched me on a totally unexpected but immensely engaging part of my career. There I was, fiddling with the affairs of yet another fish broker (well actually lobster) who was finding it hard to make ends meet in the squeeze between the fisherman and the end buyer, and 24 hours later there I was in a meeting with the minister of finance of Grenada discussing a troubled bank, First International Bank of Grenada, that local practitioners had found beyond their scope. In fairness, I had had some experience assisting the Antigua firm with an offshore bank, which was resolved by mediation under the direction of the late Johnny Cochrane as the U.S., Ukraine, estate creditors and the Antiguan Anti-Money Laundering office all fought over the assets.
Some Musings on Fraud in Bankruptcy Cases
by: Patricia B. Fugée
Roetzel & Andress LPA; Toledo, Ohio
I am sure that I am not alone in noticing that my commercial-corporate bankruptcy practice has involved a far greater number of fraud cases than I ever anticipated. In the last few years, I have had five bankruptcy debtors plead the Fifth Amendment at their §341 meetings, two of whom currently reside in federal penitentiaries, and yet this is supposedly an extremely rare occurrence. Reading financial information carefully, asking for more historical records and communications between the parties and attempting to comprehensively understand a relationship are now my first steps, not just reviewing the promissory note, the security agreement and the perfection of the liens. In this way, the possibility of fraudulent conduct is more likely to be apparent earlier on in my assessment of a new matter, which hopefully will give me an opportunity to minimize damage and protect any assets that may exist.
Agenda for the 2006 Winter Leadership Conference
Please plan to attend the joint program of the Ethics Committee and the Commercial Fraud Task Force at the Winter Leadership Conference on Dec. 1, 2006.
"Adequate Protection" of the Attorney-Client Privilege and Other "Secrets" in the Digital Age
The evidentiary privilege is under attack. Who are the culprits? Who are the targets? Attorneys? Clients? Professionals? Examine the hazards and discover the solutions in the world of electronically shared and stored information from a federal judge intimately involved in the formulation of new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (effective Dec. 1, 2006), and from other essential participants in the process. Develop the “best practices” for the protection of the privilege in the digital age. The panel includes U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald J. Hedges (D.N.J.),
Ira L. Herman (Partner, Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights, Thompson & Knight LLP),
Steve Katzman (U.S. Trustee for Region 15) and Moderator Lorenzo Mendizabal (Senior Vice President, EPIQ Systems Inc.).