How to Report Bankruptcy Fraud: Where to File and What to Include

To report bankruptcy fraud, send a written summary of what you know to the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), a division of the Department of Justice, by email at USTP.Bankruptcy.Fraud@usdoj.gov or by mail to the USTP’s Office of Criminal Enforcement.¹ You can also contact the trustee assigned to the specific bankruptcy case, or submit a tip to the FBI, which is the lead investigative agency for these crimes.² The more specific and documented your report, the more likely it is to move forward.

Where to Send the Report

U.S. Trustee Program

The USTP is the arm of the Department of Justice that oversees bankruptcy case administration and enforces bankruptcy laws, and it is the primary destination for fraud complaints from the public.³ You have two ways to submit:

Email your written summary and any attachments to USTP.Bankruptcy.Fraud@usdoj.gov.¹
Mail your report to the Office of the U.S. Trustee, ATTN: Office of Criminal Enforcement, George C. Young Federal Building and Courthouse, 400 W. Washington Street, Suite 1100, Orlando, FL 32801.¹

You can also refer the complaint to the local USTP office covering the district where the bankruptcy was filed. A directory of regional offices is available at justice.gov/ust.

The Case Trustee

Every bankruptcy case has a trustee appointed to administer the debtor’s estate. If you know who that person is, you can write or call them directly. The trustee has a practical stake in uncovering hidden assets, because recovering property for creditors is part of the job. A report to the case trustee can produce action inside the bankruptcy proceeding, such as an objection to the debtor’s discharge or a move to claw back concealed property, without waiting for a criminal investigation.

The FBI

The FBI investigates bankruptcy fraud and prioritizes cases involving large dollar amounts, possible organized crime, and debtors who file in multiple states.² Most of its bankruptcy cases come as referrals from the USTP rather than directly from the public, so filing with the USTP first is usually the most efficient route. If you have evidence of a large-scale scheme, you can also submit a tip through tips.fbi.gov or contact your local FBI field office.

Information to Gather First

A vague tip that someone “is hiding money” is hard for investigators to act on. The USTP’s own reporting page notes that the likelihood of investigation increases when you provide supporting documentation and specific facts.¹ Before you send the report, pull together whatever you can from this list:

The debtor’s full legal name, any aliases, and the name of any associated business.
The bankruptcy case number and the court where it was filed. You can look this up for free through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at pacer.uscourts.gov, or by calling the clerk’s office of the court where you believe the case was filed.⁴
A chronological description of what you observed, with dates, locations, and names of anyone else involved.
Copies of documents, emails, photographs of concealed assets, financial statements, or anything else that backs up your account.
Names and contact information for anyone who can corroborate what you know.
An approximate dollar value for hidden assets, unreported income, or fraudulent claims. Investigators prioritize cases with significant amounts at stake.

You don’t need all of this to file. Partial information can still be useful, especially if it points investigators toward records they can subpoena. But the more detail you supply, the less work stands between your tip and an actual investigation.

Reporting Anonymously

You are not required to identify yourself. The USTP accepts anonymous complaints.¹ Including your contact information makes follow-up questions possible, which can matter if an investigator needs to clarify something before the tip moves forward. If you do give your name, the USTP will not disclose it to the debtor or the debtor’s attorney as part of any investigation.

What Actually Counts as Bankruptcy Fraud

Two federal statutes cover most bankruptcy fraud. 18 U.S.C. § 152 lists nine specific acts that are crimes when done “knowingly and fraudulently” in connection with a bankruptcy case, with concealing assets from the trustee, creditors, or the court being the most common. The statute also reaches false oaths on bankruptcy schedules, fake claims against the estate, bribing a trustee or court officer, destroying or falsifying financial records, and receiving property from a debtor to help defeat the bankruptcy process.⁵ 18 U.S.C. § 157 targets the broader scheme: devising a plan to defraud and then filing a bankruptcy petition, filing a document, or making a false statement as part of that scheme.⁶

In everyday terms, the conduct you’re most likely to see is a debtor who “forgets” to list a bank account or a vacation property, someone who transfers a car or other valuable asset to a friend or relative right before filing, or a business that destroys financial records to make its true income untraceable. More organized fraud can involve “petition mills,” where predatory operators file bankruptcy petitions on behalf of unsuspecting tenants facing eviction, collecting fees and wrecking the tenants’ credit in the process. The statutes reach anyone involved, not just the debtor, so a spouse who helps hide assets, an accountant who cooks the books, or a friend who accepts transferred property can be charged too.

What Happens After You File

The USTP reviews what you send, but don’t expect a status update. Federal confidentiality rules prevent the USTP from confirming or denying whether an investigation is underway. The only reason you’d hear back is if investigators need more details from you.

Behind the scenes, if the evidence warrants it, the U.S. Trustee is required by law to notify the appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office of matters that may constitute a federal crime.⁷ The FBI evaluates the referral, and if it opens a case, agents begin interviewing witnesses and reviewing financial records. Complex investigations may involve undercover operations, IRS collaboration, or electronic surveillance.²

The bankruptcy court track runs separately and usually faster. The case trustee or the USTP can move to dismiss the case or object to the debtor’s discharge based on the same conduct. Under 11 U.S.C. § 727, the court must deny a Chapter 7 discharge if the debtor concealed or transferred property with intent to defraud creditors within the year before filing, destroyed or falsified financial records, made a false oath on bankruptcy paperwork, or failed to satisfactorily explain a loss of assets. If the fraud only surfaces after the court has already granted a discharge, the trustee or a creditor can request revocation within one year of the discharge date if the party asking didn’t know about the fraud at the time.⁸ Discharge denial happens far more often than a federal indictment, and it is where most reported tips have their practical effect: the debtor still owes the debts and now has a fraud finding on the record.

How Long You Have to Report

Probably longer than you think. The general federal statute of limitations for most crimes is five years, but bankruptcy fraud gets special treatment. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3284, concealment of a debtor’s assets is a continuing offense, and the clock does not start running until the debtor receives a final discharge or the court denies the discharge.⁹ In a Chapter 7 case, discharge typically comes a few months after filing, and prosecutors then have five years from that date. If the case drags on or discharge is denied, the window stays open longer.

The civil deadline is tighter. A request to revoke a discharge based on fraud must be filed within one year after the discharge was granted.⁸ The sooner your report gets in front of the trustee, the more options remain on both tracks.

1
United States Department of Justice. Report Suspected Bankruptcy Fraud
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bankruptcy Fraud
3
U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Trustee Program
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PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER – Find a Case
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 152 – Bankruptcy Crimes
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 157 – Bankruptcy Fraud
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3284 – Concealment of Bankrupt’s Assets