11.1.2004

Congress, the Courts, and the Feds Agree – Bankruptcy Crime Does Not Pay

While the debate over various aspects of bankruptcy reform continues, there is one area where a consensus has clearly developed and taken deeper root – criminal bankruptcy activity is treated seriously and punished more severely than ever. Along with the sweeping changes made to other areas in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act3 , Congress addressed bankruptcy crime by including a provision making it easier to prosecute those who play games of any sort with records or documents involved in a bankruptcy case.4 At the same time, the United States Department of Justice stepped up its eçorts to prosecute bankruptcy crimes despite the reallocation of many law enforcement resources to the terrorism battle. View full article (PDF).