《楊清泉律師專欄》FALSE OATH MAY BE GROUND FOR DENIAL OF BK DISCHARGE(PART I)

Naturally, the court did not buy debtor’s argument that plaintiff did not prove that he had fraudulent intent, stating that “the indicia of fraudulent intent surrounding the debtor’s false statement and omissions are manifold and powerful.” The court denied the debtor’s discharge pursuant to Section 727(a)(4), the false oath provision of the bankruptcy code, and 727(a)(3). 727 (a) (3) denies a discharge to the debtor “who has concealed, destroyed, mutilated, falsified , or failed to keep or preserve any recorded information, including books, documents, records, and papers, from which the debtor’s financial condition or business transactions might be ascertained, unless such act or failure to act was justified under all of the circumstances of the case;”. The court found that debtor failed to keep or preserve books and records, and that such failure made it impossible to determine the debtor’s financial condition or business transactions. “This bankruptcy case is marked by a virtual absence of recorded information,” the court said. DISCHARGE DENIED.

Lawrence Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in law practice for thirty years. He specializes in bankruptcy, business and civil litigation and has handled more than four thousand successful bankruptcy cases in California. He speaks Mandarin and Fujien and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally. Please call (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave Bldg A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58 Alhambra, CA 91803.