COEUR D’ALENE - Rebecca C. Buell, 48, of Post Falls, Idaho, waived her right to indictment and pleaded guilty today to concealment of bankruptcy assets, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An information was filed against Buell on Dec. 16, 2017.
According to the plea agreement, Buell admitted that she concealed $38,960.53 in assets when she filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013.
The charge of concealment of bankruptcy assets is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 25, 2017, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.
The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).
Today's announcement is part of efforts underway by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
