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USTP Press Release
For Immediate Release
February 12, 1999
NEW ORLEANS ATTORNEY RECEIVES
33-MONTH SENTENCE FOR FRAUD COUNTS
INCLUDING BANKRUPTCY FRAUD
NEW
ORLEANS--Betty L. Washington, a New Orleans-area attorney,
was sentenced to 33 months in prison for multiple counts of
fraud, including bankruptcy fraud, on Jan. 20, 1999, according
to United States Trustee Janice Chenier Taylor. Washington
was also sentenced to five years of supervised release following
her imprisonment, and ordered to pay approximately $5,000
in restitution.
Washington
was charged in July 1998 with bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud,
mail fraud, credit card fraud, making false statements on
tax returns and loan applications submitted to financial institutions,
and use of a false Social Security number.
The bankruptcy
fraud count arose from the fact that between March 1992 and
January 1995 she knowingly and fraudulently concealed, from
the Chapter 7 trustee in her bankruptcy case and from her
creditors, her right to receive legal fees from a client.
In addition,
as part of a scheme to obtain more than $20,000 in automobile
loans, Washington attempted to mislead a bank into believing
her bankruptcy case had been concluded.
On Sept.
18, 1998, after a trial in the District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, a jury found Washington guilty of eight
of the 12 counts brought against her. She was acquitted on
the charges of mail fraud and credit card fraud.
Washington
obtained her law degree from Tulane University Law School
in 1983 and was admitted to practice law that same year.
United States
Trustee Taylor referred the case to United States Attorney
Eddie Jordan for prosecution, and the United States Trustee's
Office provided expert testimony regarding the bankruptcy
fraud counts.
The United
States Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department
that supervises the administration of bankruptcy cases nationwide.
Taylor is United States Trustee for Region 5, which consists
of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Contact: Janice Chenier Taylor
United States Trustee, Region 5
(504) 589-4018
Public Information Officer
Executive Office for United States Trustees
(202) 305-7411
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