Wood County Woman Convicted for Bankruptcy Fraud

CHARLESTON, WV—JENNIFER MICHELLE LONGWELL, 34, of Williamstown, West Virginia was convicted late yesterday of committing bankruptcy fraud after a three-day jury trial in Parkersburg. Longwell was named in a three-count indictment charging her with concealing proceeds of real estate transactions and lying under oath about those transactions while she was in bankruptcy. Longwell took the witness stand in her own defense. After an approximately one and a half hour deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts in the indictment. She is to be sentenced July 13, 2009, at 1:30 p.m. Longwell faces 15 years in prison, a $750,000 fine, 3 years supervised release, and an order of restitution in favor of the victims of her fraud. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys R. Booth Goodwin II and Thomas C. Ryan handled the prosecution. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the proceedings.

The case was a part of a cooperative effort between the United States Attorney’s office and United States Trustee’s office to combat bankruptcy fraud. The other three individuals charged when those efforts were announced have since pled guilty.