Jury Convicts Daughter Of Receiving Dad's 50% Interest In Home After Latter Had Filed Bankruptcy, Then Refinanced Premises To Drain Equity Out From Under Ch. 7 Trustee

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (San Francisco, California):

• A federal jury convicted Vallejo resident Myra Holmes [] of one count of bankruptcy fraud, one count of bank fraud, and three counts of making a false statement to a bank, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

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•  Evidence at trial showed that Holmes, 55, enriched herself by knowingly receiving from her father his half-interest in a Vallejo residence in which she lived. Holmes knew at the time she received this property that her father had previously declared bankruptcy and that, as a result, his half-interest in the Vallejo property now belonged to his Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate.
  
  Holmes took this half-interest in the Vallejo property without paying anything to the bankruptcy estate and also without notifying or obtaining the permission of the United States Bankruptcy Court or the bankruptcy trustee.
  
  After Holmes received her father’s half-interest in the Vallejo property, she drained the equity from the property through a fraudulent refinancing mortgage loan application. [...] Evidence at trial showed that Holmes knew at the time she filed her refinancing mortgage applications that she was overstating her monthly income and account balance and also knew that the bankruptcy trustee had recently filed a lawsuit against her seeking to recover the bankruptcy estate’s half-interest in the Vallejo property.
  
  As a result of her bankruptcy fraud and mortgage fraud, Holmes received approximately $147,000 directly and arranged for personal debts to be paid (including her debts to Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Spiegel).
  
  By the end of April 2006, Holmes had spent on personal expenses (including gambling and shopping) all the approximately $147,000 that she had fraudulently received as a result of the November 2005 refinancing of the Vallejo property. To date, Holmes has not repaid the bankruptcy estate for the funds she took out of the Vallejo property in the November 2005 refinancing.

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Federal Jury Convicts Vallejo Woman of Bankruptcy and Mortgage Fraud Scheme (Defendant Used Illegal Property Transfer and Fraudulent Mortgage Application to Drain More Than $147,000 in Equity from Residence in Bankruptcy Proceeding).