BENTON/MARION, Ill. - A federal inmate housed within the Communications Management Unit (CMU) at the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois has been found guilty of filing fictitious involuntary bankruptcy petitions against federal prison officials.
Kurt F. Johnson, 55, was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial in Benton, Illinois. The charges against Johnson were originally brought in a four-count federal indictment returned in July 2018.
The mere filing of the fictitious claims resulted in both victims receiving solicitation letters from credit counseling services and loan companies based upon their supposed bankruptcy. Once the fraud was discovered, the United States quickly moved to seal the proceedings to prevent further damage to the victims’ reputations.
Johnson is currently serving out the last decade of a 300-month sentence for an unrelated fraud conviction in the Northern District of California. His underlying crime involved a nationwide debt elimination scheme that raked in over $6 million.
“I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Weinhoeft and our law enforcement partners who serve on the Southern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group for their strong commitment to combating fraud and abuse in bankruptcy cases, as evidenced by this prosecution,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Southern and Central Illinois and Indiana (Region 10). The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, with additional offices in South Bend, Indiana, and Peoria, Illinois.