16 Charged With Fraud-Related Crimes

After a sweep across Southern California, 16 people, including two Orange County residents, were arrested and charged with various crimes related to bankruptcy fraud, federal authorities said Tuesday.

The arrests were the result of a crackdown in a federal judicial district that encompasses Orange, Los Angeles and six other counties, where 10% of the nation’s bankruptcy cases are filed, U.S. Atty. Alejandro N. Mayorkas said.

The cases target a series of alleged abuses of the bankruptcy system including the concealment of assets, making of false sworn financial statements in bankruptcy proceedings, and filing for bankruptcy under a false Social Security numbers--a practice commonly known as “identity fraud.”

All but five of those arrested were charged with using false Social Security numbers on their bankruptcy petitions. In some cases, the numbers belonged to an estranged relative.

The Orange County cases involve Rebekah Ramirez of La Palma and Joan Perez of Fullerton. Ramirez, 26, was charged with embezzlement and has entered into a plea agreement, the details of which weren’t available. She is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 10. Perez, 59, was charged with using a false Social Security number on a bankruptcy petition.

Bankruptcy fraud is becoming more widespread, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman or the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

“The crook files a bankruptcy petition using their own name in an attempt to get their debt wiped out. Then they use a different Social Security number and the victim ends up with a bankruptcy in their credit history,” Mrozek said.