IN RE JOHNSON
United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland, Baltimore Division.
Filed: October 19, 2012.
Injunctive Relief90. Section 110(j)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that if the Court finds that a bankruptcy petition preparer has:
a. engaged in conduct in violation of § 110 or of any provision of the Bankruptcy Code;
b. misrepresented the bankruptcy petition preparer's experience or education as a bankruptcy petition preparer; or
c. engaged in other fraudulent, unfair or deceptive conduct,
the Court may enjoin the bankruptcy petition preparer from engaging in such conduct. 11 U.S.C. § 110(j)(2)(A).
91. The Court finds that the Defendants have engaged in all three of the types of conduct described in § 110(j)(2)(A) and, therefore, an injunction prohibiting such conduct is warranted in this case.
1. Congress has provided that "[t]he United States trustee may raise and may appear and be heard on any issue in any case or proceeding" under Title 11 of the United States Code (the "Bankruptcy Code"). 11 U.S.C. § 307. Additionally, various paragraphs of § 110 of the Bankruptcy Code specifically provide that the United State Trustee may bring actions to redress the misconduct alleged in this case. See, e.g., 11 U.S.C. §§ 110(i)(1), 110(J)(1).
2. The term "debtor" is defined by the Bankruptcy Code as a "person ... concerning which a case under [the Bankruptcy Code] has been commenced." 11 U.S.C. § 101(13). For purposes of these Findings, the Court applies that same definition.
3. At the hearing on this matter, the Assistant United States Trustee testified that Mancini admitted to him that the social security number listed on these documents was not Mancini's social security number but that Mancini claimed the numbers were tax identification numbers assigned to him or his businesses. However, the Assistant United States Trustee also testified that his own investigation indicated that the numbers were actually social security numbers issued to individuals living outside of Maryland. There was no evidence presented as to the identity of these individuals or that these individuals were aware that Mancini had used their social security numbers.