Debtor charged with making false statements by submitting false tax returns to U.S. Trustee

Now that debtors must produce copies of their tax returns in bankruptcy cases as part of the bankruptcy laws' already numerous disclosure requirements it was only a matter of time before we began to see some criminal cases built on debtors' making or using false writings (or documents containing false statements) within an executive branch matter in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001.

Don W. Reinhard, whose indictment in the Northern District of Florida we first commented on here, is  charged with 2 counts of violating 18 U.S.C. 1001 by allegedly submitting to the Assistant U.S. Trustee 2002 and 2005 U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns knowing that each contained false entries.  The 2002 return (filed in January 2007) allegedly falsely claimed a net operating loss carry back from Reinhard's 2005 return that enabled him to avoid paying $385,064 in taxes.  The 2005 return allegedly falsely overstated Reinhard's basis in real property that he sold by approximately $1.9 million.

The United States Trustees' broad authority to act and be heard in bankruptcy cases translates into extensive executive agency jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. 1001.  Consequently, nearly any false statement made or false writing submitted to the U.S. Trustee's Office in a bankruptcy case could be prosecuted under the false statement statute, subject to proof that it was done "knowingly and willfully."