Randallstown Man Convicted of Bankruptcy Fraud and Filing False Tax Returns
Failed to Report Income and Assets Totaling More Than $740,000 and Attempted to Fraudulently Discharge Debts of More Than $1.1 Million through Bankruptcy

BALTIMORE—A federal jury today convicted Ricardo O. Curry II, age 42, of Randallstown, Maryland, on two counts of assisting in the filing of a false tax return, four counts of bankruptcy fraud, four counts of falsifying bankruptcy records, and one count of false testimony under oath at a bankruptcy proceeding. After the jury returned its verdict, U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. ordered that Curry be detained pending sentencing, and he was taken into custody.

The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Baltimore Office of the United States Trustee Program, the Department of Justice agency that supervises bankruptcy cases and trustees.

According to evidence presented at his three day trial, Curry worked for Peerless Real Estate Services Inc., a North Carolina corporation that oversaw the sale of property in North Carolina, including the Village of Penland development, which contained more than 2,000 lots. Curry recruited at least 12 investors to purchase at least 23 lots in the Village of Penland and he received referral fees based on these sales. In 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively, Curry earned referral fees of $41,455, $43,200, and $330,546. Although Curry reported the income he received as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company on his 2005, 2006, and 2007 tax returns, he failed to report these referral fees totaling $415,201.

On March 12, 2009, Curry filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. On April 21, 2009, Curry filed a Statement of Financial Affairs with the bankruptcy court, which reported the income he earned as a pharmaceutical sales representative for tax years 2005, 2006, and 2007 but failed to report the $415,201 he earned in referral fees from Peerless. Curry also failed to disclose his ownership interest in a home worth approximately $325,000. On July 28, 2009, Curry filed an Amended Statement of Financial Affairs, which again failed to disclose the $415,201 in referral fees and his ownership interest in the home. On October 20, 2009, Curry testified under oath at meeting of the creditors, falsely stating that all his assets were listed in his bankruptcy filing, when in fact, Curry knew that he had not reported the referral fees or his home ownership. Ultimately, Curry never provided documents to the trustee overseeing his bankruptcy case regarding either the referral fee income or the home, and as a result, on April 12, 2010, Curry’s attempt to discharge his debts through bankruptcy was denied.

Curry faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count of falsifying bankruptcy records; five years in prison on each count of bankruptcy fraud and for false testimony; and three years in prison for each of the tax counts. Judge Quarles has scheduled sentencing for June 4, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the IRS-CI, FBI, and U.S. Trustee’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory R. Bockin and David I. Sharfstein, who are prosecuting the case.