Sumner Woman Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Concealment

A woman who hid an inheritance check from her creditors in bankruptcy court pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  Debra S. Leisinger, age 58, from Sumner, Iowa, was convicted of one count of bankruptcy concealment.

In a plea agreement, Leisinger admitted that, on December 8, 2022, she filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, by means of sworn court filings.  When a debtor files a petition seeking protection from creditors under the bankruptcy laws, a “bankruptcy estate” is created, which is comprised of all property belonging to the debtor, wherever located, and by whomever held, as of the time of the filing of the bankruptcy case, and debtors must truthfully disclose their assets to the court in their court filings.  Leisinger admitted she fraudulently concealed in her filings that she was in possession of a $147,969.28 inheritance check on the date she filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  An attorney had handed Leisinger the check on December 1, 2022, but Leisinger did not immediately cash it.  On December 16, 2022, Leisinger cashed the check into an account she controlled at a local credit union.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Leisinger remains free on bond previously set.  Leisinger faces a possible maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The Office of the U.S. Trustee assisted the investigation.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-CR-2028. 

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