Haverhill Man Sentenced for Bankruptcy Fraud

BOSTON—A Haverhill man was sentenced today for concealing a property he owned in Puerto Rico from his bankruptcy creditors.

Peter A. Schutter, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman to two years of probation. In July 2013, Schutter pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud.

In 1994, Schutter’s mother deeded a parcel of property in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to Schutter and his wife. In April 2009, the Schutters filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Worcester but failed to list the Puerto Rico property as an asset. In May 2009, at a meeting of creditors, Schutter was specifically asked by his bankruptcy trustee whether he had owned any real estate in the prior four years and Schutter answered, under oath, “no, sir.” Schutter later disclosed the property to the trustee but only after the trustee requested records from Schutter that would have led inevitably to the discovery of that property. The trustee later sold the property for $115,000 for the benefit of creditors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was referred for investigation by the U.S. Trustee's Office in Worcester. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.