Man Gets Prison Term in Bankruptcy Case

A man accused of filing more than 200 bogus bankruptcy petitions in a scheme to help renters and homeowners stave off eviction and foreclosure was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles federal court to 71 months in prison.

Gilfert W. Jackson, 53, was also ordered to pay more than $72,000 in restitution to 24 victims of his eviction counseling service when he gets out of prison.

The scam also cost financial institutions more than $700,000, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Jackson, now serving a two-year prison term on a state grand-theft conviction, pleaded guilty in April to a single criminal charge after negotiating a deal with prosecutors.

He was originally indicted on 15 bankruptcy fraud counts for which he could have received up to 75 years in prison if convicted.

Authorities said Jackson would contact homeowners or renters facing foreclosure or eviction and offer them “expert services” to help them remain in their homes. His fees ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Once retained, he filed involuntary bankruptcy petitions against his clients, triggering automatic delays in the foreclosure proceedings. In preparing the bankruptcy documents, Jackson sometimes forged his clients’ signatures and concocted fictitious debts.

Some of Jackson’s clients were placed in bankruptcy without their knowledge or against their will, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. David C. Marcus, who handled the case. Ultimately, Jackson’s clients were forced out of their homes a few months later when their creditors got court orders lifting the automatic stays.

When the homeowners and renters frantically telephoned him for help as they were about to be ousted, Jackson would not return their calls.

In the end, Jackson’s clients not only lost their homes but also had their credit ruined, Marcus said.

Jackson was also accused of carrying out a related scam. On other occasions, the government said, he moved friends, employees and relatives into vacant homes and filed bankruptcy petitions to keep the real owners from renting or selling the properties.

In sentencing Jackson, U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real said Jackson took advantage of people who were “unusually vulnerable” because they were about to lose their homes.