COUNTYWIDE : Man Sentenced in Bankruptcy Fraud
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After forging his deceased mother’s name on bankruptcy papers to dodge an eviction, a 58-year-old Camarillo man has been sentenced to seven months in federal prison, authorities said Tuesday.
Phillip J. Zirretta received the sentence Monday from U.S. District Court Judge Manuel L. Real in Los Angeles. Zirretta pleaded guilty in February to one count of violating bankruptcy fraud statutes, the FBI said.
The FBI said Zirretta used his deceased mother’s name on a bankruptcy petition in September, 1992, to avoid being evicted from a Camarillo residence that he and his wife were renting.
Charles Teevan, a special agent with the FBI in Ventura, said the practice of falsifying bankruptcy papers to avoid eviction has become an increasing problem. People who engage in the practice often manage to stay in a rented residence for two or three months without paying rent, he said.
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