Bankruptcy and Renters Policy Fraud—Louisiana

Amount: $115,000

A Louisiana woman is facing up to twenty years in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud for a scheme where she lied on U.S. Bankruptcy documents and subsequently lied on renters' insurance policy documents.

According to the guilty plea, the fraudster filed for bankruptcy in October of 2013. In her bankruptcy documents she valued her furniture and clothing assets at $1,000. Less than a month later she purchased a renters' insurance policy that valued her assets at $100,000. A month after she procured the renters' policy, her house caught fire. The blaze destroyed her possessions. Just days after the fire the defendant attended a hearing regarding her bankruptcy case where she reaffirmed that her clothing and furniture were valued at $1,000, reaffirming statements given in her previous filings. The following day the defendant filed a claim under her renters' policy and stated that her personal property was worth over $116,000. She faces up to twenty years in prison and may be required to pay a fine of $250,000, as well as restitution.