Conclusion

  Bankruptcy foreclosure fraud is a growing problem that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy system as it takes advantage of families in distress. The United States Trustee Program is working hard to identify bankruptcy foreclosure scams around the country and to take appropriate action through criminal referrals and civil suits, but we need help from members of the bankruptcy community.

  The United States Trustee Program welcomes information that will help detect bankruptcy foreclosure scams, and is indebted to those trustees, judges, clerks, secured lenders, bankruptcy attorneys, and private citizens who report suspicious fact patterns. We also appreciate the efforts of federal and state law enforcement authorities who target these operations. We will continue to coordinate with all participants in the bankruptcy system to eradicate this destructive form of fraud.

End Notes:

* This article originally appeared in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Vol. XVIII, No. 8, October 1998. It is reprinted with permission of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the United States Department of Justice or the United States Trustee Program. The author wishes to thank all of the United States Trustee Program employees who provided invaluable information and assistance in the development of this article.

Final Report of the Bankruptcy Foreclosure Scam Task Force, United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, May 1998 ("Task Force Report"). The text of the report is posted on the American Bankruptcy Institute's web site at www.abiworld.org.

"The Foreclosure Must Go On; L.A. Bankruptcy Judges Give the Hook to 'Artful Dodger' Debtors," 84-May A.B.A.J. 32.

"Nine Indicted by U.S. for Bankruptcy Fraud; Foreclosures Key to Alleged Scam," Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1995, 1995 WL 6208323; "Nine Charged in Bankruptcy Fraud Case," Chicago Sun-Times, May 20, 1995, 1995 WL 6654358; "Justice Announces Indictments of Nine, Including Lawyer, For Bankruptcy Fraud," BNA's Bankruptcy Law Reporter, May 25, 1995, p. 607.

Bankruptcy, the Next Twenty Years, National Bankruptcy Review Commission Final Report, October 20, 1997, pp. 281-287.

The Foreclosure Fraud Alert Website http://www.foreclosurefraudalert.com/

The Foreclosure Fraud Alert Blog  http://www.foreclosurefraudalert.com/fraudblog