Bankruptcy Fraud Resource Center | Wayne D. Holly, P.C.

California Real Estate Developer Sentenced Following Plea to Withholding Documents and Concealing Assets

William Garlock, a 70 year old real estate developer in California, was sentenced on February 18th to one year and one day imprisonment, a $150,000 fine, a 3 year term of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service for concealing assets in a bankruptcy case.  Garlock pleaded guilty to a superceding indictment charging him with one count of fraudulently withholding recorded information and one count of concealing assets in a bankruptcy case.

According to a plea agreement, Garlock admitted failing to disclose several assets in his bankruptcy schedules, including a home and a horse, after several investors forced him into involuntary bankruptcy.  Garlock also admitted that he fraudulently withheld records from the trustee indicating he was the owner of a commercial parking garage that had been sold for a profit several months before the bankruptcy case.

Former Mall Owner Sentenced for Fraudulently Concealing Rents in Chapter 11 Case

The managing member of a company that operated the Middleton Mall in Fairmont, West Virginia was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for bankruptcy and tax fraud.  Deitrich S. Fansler pleaded guilty in September, 2019 to one count of concealing assets in bankruptcy and one count of willfully failing to pay taxes.  According to this press release, Fansler collected rents from mall tenants, failed to deposit the rents into a debtor in possession account, and used approximately $225,000 of the funds for other purposes, concealing them from creditors.  Fansler also acknowledged failing to pay to the IRS withheld income taxes from employees of the operating company and another entity under his control, Villa Rentals, Inc.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Fansler was ordered to pay $225,000 in restitution to the bankruptcy trustee, as well as $880,446.82 in restitution to the IRS.

Americore CEO Invokes 5th Amendment Privilege in Deposition Amid Accusations of Mismanagement

Grant White, CEO of Americore Holdings LLC, invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination during a deposition Thursday before the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in his Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.  Americore and its affiliated hospitals filed for chapter 11 protection in the Eastern District of Kentucky in December, 2019.  The United States Trustee earlier filed a motion for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee or an examiner.  The motion alleged that White was mismanaging the company, had lied to the bankruptcy court, was under civil and criminal investigation and had "inappropriately siphoned money" from affiliated entities.  The motion was joined by the creditors committee and one of the debtor in possession's largest debt holders.

 

Ponzi Scheme Operator Sentenced Following Guilty Plea to Bankruptcy Fraud

The operator of a sophisticated work-at-home email scheme was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 38 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $2,359,914 in restitution for bankruptcy fraud.  According to news reports and this press release, Marina Bonderenko operated a work-at-home Ponzi scheme that ultimately failed but not before she and her partner, Volodimyr Pigida, raided the cash to purchase homes, expensive cars, and a yacht.  As victims of the scam got wise and the money started to run out, Bonderenko and Pigida accelerated their looting of the company, eventually transferring $3.3 million out of the company for their personal benefit.  The two set up a series of trusts to try to hide the diverted assets from the bankruptcy trustee after the sham company declared bankruptcy.  Bonderenko and Pigida never revealed to the bankruptcy court that they had looted the company coffers and transferred assets purchased with that money to ten trusts they had established. In all, the pair attempted to conceal $3,334,750 in assets from the bankruptcy court and creditors.

Bonderenko and her now-husband Pigida were indicted for conspiracy, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in November 2018. In September 2019, Bonderenko pleaded guilty to a single count of bankruptcy fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 157.