IN RE JOHNSON
United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland, Baltimore Division.
Filed: October 19, 2012.
36. In connection with Ms. Johnson's case, the Defendants prepared, among other things, the following documents:
a. Voluntary Chapter 7 Petition,
b. Bankruptcy Schedules A-J,
c. Statement of Financial Affairs,
d. Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income and Mean-Test Calculation, and
e. Application to Waive Chapter 7 Filing Fee.
37. Although the Defendants filled out and filed the various disclosures required of a non-attorney petition preparer, the Defendants did not provide true and accurate information on those disclosures and forms. Specifically, the Defendants indicated that Mancini's name was "A. Michael Scalia, BPP" and they provided a social security number that was not Mancini's true social security number.3
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.