Robert Johnson, a 41-year-old resident of Syracuse, New York, has been charged with making false declarations in a bankruptcy case, bankruptcy fraud, and falsification of bankruptcy records. The charges stem from the filing of false bankruptcy petitions in several states, including Michigan, Mississippi, Iowa, Florida, New York, Montana, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Johnson, between June 2025 and July 2025 he submitted multiple fraudulent bankruptcy petitions. These documents falsely alleged that a law enforcement official was a commodity broker involved in white collar crimes and wire fraud who owed Johnson $99,999,999; an Onondaga County State Court Judge was accused of being both a stockbroker engaged in fraud and a commodity broker involved in similar crimes; and a Cayuga County Supreme Court Judge was claimed to be running Ponzi schemes with significant debts owed to Johnson. In addition to these allegations against public officials, Johnson also filed a petition in West Virginia targeting a non-profit organization based in Syracuse. He claimed the organization was linked to environmental hazards as well as financial crimes such as money laundering and Ponzi schemes.
All the petitions were mailed from Syracuse. An FBI investigation found that the claims contained within these documents were false.
It is important to note that these are accusations at this stage; Johnson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Johnson, as alleged, filed bogus petitions in nine states against respected public officials, and a reputable non-profit organization. These false petitions wreak havoc on the victims; it is a form of financial terrorism. As Mr. Johnson’s arrest will attest, we will not stand for this conduct in the Northern District of New York. I want to commend the FBI agents who conducted this investigation and were able to apprehend the defendant in record time.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli commented: “The impact of Mr. Johnson’s alleged fraud was incredibly damaging to the individuals and the non-profit he targeted. Once our office was notified of the alleged crimes, we investigated and swiftly arrested Johnson, who is now facing federal charges for his reckless schemes. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate criminals looking to defraud our communities.”
If convicted on all counts filed against him—making false declarations during bankruptcy proceedings or committing related fraud—Johnson could face up to 20 years imprisonment along with fines up to $250,000 and three years supervised release after serving his sentence.
Johnson appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pederson today and has been detained pending further court proceedings.
The ongoing investigation is being handled by the FBI while Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Brown is leading prosecution efforts.
