Yes
Jonathan Leventhal, Esq.
Leventhal Law Group, P.C.
818-347-5800
To: "
cdcbaa@yahoogroups.com"
Sent: 12/29/2011 4:06 PM
Subject: [cdcbaa] Ethics issue
You appear with your client at the 341(a) hearing. You review the petition prior to the debtor testifying to make sure that you are on the same page as the debtor. The debtor fills out one of the customary questionnaires provided at the 341(a) hearing. The trustee starts the hearing and asks your client whether he has sold, transfered or given any property within the last four years. Your client testifies that he as not. Then the trustee brings out the smoking gun and asks the debtor whether he ever owned or participated in any way in the sale of a particular property for which he received a specific amount of money. Your client now discloses that he has. He states that he was part of the sale of a property six months prior to filing in which he received a significant amount of money from the sale of the property.
You know that your client is in trouble for not disclosing the sale of the property and the funds received. You tell the trustee that you will amend the schedules and correct the issues.
The trustee is not satisfied and asks the debtor why he perjured himself on the petition, the questionnaire and in his testimony and starts laying the foundation for a perjury charge by showing each document to the debtor, making him read the question on the petition aloud and reading the answer.
What do you do? Can you stop the train wreck that is about to happen. At what point if any do you instruct your client not to answer any further questions for fear of a criminal perjury charge? Thoughts...
Thanks,
Nancy B. Clark
Borowitz & Clark, LLP
Yes
Jonathan Leventhal, Esq.
Leventhal Law Group, P.C.
818-347-5800
To: "
cdcbaa@yahoogroups.com" <
cdcbaa@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 12/29/2011 4:06 PM
Subject: [cdcbaa] Ethics issue
You appear with your client at the 341(a) hearing. You review the petition prior to the debtor testifying to make sure that you are on the same page as the debtor. The debtor fills out one of the customary questionnaires provided at the 341(a) hearing. The
trustee starts the hearing and asks your client whether he has sold, transfered or given any property within the last four years. Your client testifies that he as not. Then the trustee brings out the smoking gun and asks the debtor whether he ever owned or
participated in any way in the sale of a particular property for which he received a specific amount of money. Your client now discloses that he has. He states that he was part of the sale of a property six months prior to filing in which he received a significant
amount of money from the sale of the property.
You know that your client is in trouble for not disclosing the sale of the property and the funds received. You tell the trustee that you will amend the schedules and correct the issues.
The trustee is not satisfied and asks the debtor why he perjured himself on the petition, the questionnaire and in his testimony and starts laying the foundation for a perjury charge by showing each document to the debtor, making him read the question on the
petition aloud and reading the answer.
What do you do? Can you stop the train wreck that is about to happen. At what point if any do you instruct your client not to answer any further questions for fear of a criminal perjury charge? Thoughts...
Thanks,
Nancy B. Clark
Borowitz & Clark, LLP
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