845
False Oath or Account18 U.S.C. § 152(2)
|
Subsection 152(2), of Section 152 provides:
A person who...knowingly and fraudulently makes a false oath or
account in or in relation to any case under title 11;...shall be fined...,
imprisoned..., or both.
The elements of a false oath violation have been defined as:
- the existence of a bankruptcy proceeding;
- a statement made under oath;
- the statement must be material;
- the statement must be false; and
- the statement was made knowingly and fraudulently.
Metheany v. United States, 390 F.2d 559, 561 (9th Cir.), cert.
denied, 393 U.S. 824 (1968).
Absent fundamental ambiguity or imprecise questioning, the meaning
and
truthfulness of the defendant's answer when questioned under oath in the
bankruptcy proceeding is for the jury. The defendant "cannot escape a false
oath
charge by misleading the questioner with false testimony and then supply
literally true answers to questions based on his false testimony."
United
States v. Robbins, 997 F.2d 390, 395 (8th Cir.), cert. denied,
114 S.
Ct. 391 (1993); United States v. Schafrick, 871 F.2d 300 (2d Cir.
1989).
CAVEAT: A literally true but unresponsive answer, even if
intentional
misleading, is to be "remedied through the 'questioner's acuity' and not by
a
federal perjury conviction." Bronston v. United States, 409 U.S.
352, 362
(1973).
The false oath or account must be given "in relation to any
[bankruptcy] case. . ." Therefore testimony in adversary proceedings,
depositions, or even creditor meetings are encompassed by the broad language
of
the statute. United States v. Jackson, 836 F.2d 324 (7th Cir. 1987);
United States v. Yagow, 953 F.2d 427 (8th Cir.), cert. denied,
506
U.S. 833 (1992).
The false statement must be made with respect to a material matter.
United States v. O'Donnell, 539 F.2d 1233, 1237 (9th Cir.), cert.
denied, 429 U.S. 960 (1976). The law has been that the materiality of a
false statement in a bankruptcy fraud prosecution is a question of law to be
decided by the court, not the jury. United States v. Key, 859 F.2d
1257,
1261 (7th Cir. 1988); United States v. Metheany, 390 F.2d 559 (9th
Cir.),
cert. denied, 393 U.S. 824 (1968). However, the Supreme Court's
recent
decision in the § 1001 area in effect reverses this line of cases on
this
issue, so the better practice is to submit the materiality question to the
jury.
United States v. Gaudin, 115 S. Ct. 2310 (1995).
Materiality of a false statement has been broadly interpreted to
mean
that the false statement bears a relationship to the bankrupt's business
transactions or estate, or pertains to the discovery of assets, including
the
history of the bankrupt's financial transactions. United States v.
Jackson, 836 F.2d 324, 329 (7th Cir. 1984); United States v.
O'Donnell, 539 F.2d 1233, 1237-38 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429
U.S.
960 (1976). Thus misstatements as to defendant's social security number and
past
names are material, United States v. Phillips, 606 F.2d 884, 886 (9th
Cir.
1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1024 (1980), as is the failure
to
list prior bankruptcy filings, United States v. Lindholm, 24 F.3d
1078,
1083 (9th Cir. 1994), post conviction relief denied, 61 F.3d 913
(1995).
PRACTICE TIP: A failure to answer a question on the bankruptcy
petition can constitute a false statement since leaving the question blank
had
the same effect as if the debtor had affirmatively replied "none."
United
States v. Ellis, 50 F.3d 419 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct.
143
(1995).
PRACTICE TIP: In some circuits, the common law rule requiring two
witnesses or one witness and corroboration is no longer followed. United
States v. Jessee, 605 F.2d 430, 431 (9th Cir. 1979); but see,
Mosheim v. United States, 285 F.2d 949, 951 (5th Cir.), cert.
denied, 365 U.S. 868 (1961).
Where the defendant falsely testifies or produces other false
information before a court 18 U.S.C. § 1623 may be used. Section 1623
does
away with the "two witness" rule and also allows a defendant to be convicted
where the defendant makes inconsistent statements in the same proceeding.
This
section can also be used to prosecute the "I don't remember" answer where it
can
be shown that the witness did know at one time and has, in fact, not
forgotten.
CAVEAT: Section 1623 applies only to statements made before a
court
or grand jury.
PRACTICE TIP: The reasoning of decisions under Section 1623 may
also
apply to false oath cases under 18 U.S.C. § 152(2). Under 18 U.S.C.
§
1623(d), a perjury prosecution is barred if the defendant can show that the
perjurious testimony was recanted in the same continuous court or grand jury
proceeding. The recantation must be unequivocal. United States v.
Tobias, 863 F.2d 685 (9th Cir. 1988); United States v. Moore, 613
F.2d
1029 (D.C.Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 954 (1980); United
States
v. D'Auria, 672 F.2d 1085 (2d Cir. 1982); United States v.
Goguen, 723
F.2d 1012 (1st Cir. 1983). see also, United States v. Diorio,
451
F.2d 21, 23 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 955 (1971)(a
recantation in
and of itself cures an original false statement under oath).
Subsection (2) of Section 152 also prohibits the making of false
accounts. The term "account" is not defined in the statute. Generally the
term
"account" means a reconciliation or reporting of a financial activity --
i.e.,
an accounting. Thus a debtor in possession's monthly report, a trustee's
semi-annual report, a trustee's final report in an asset case; a creditor's
report of rents received, and an auctioneer's report of sale are all
examples of
"accounts."
[cited in USAM 9-41.001] | |