Peoria County Man Pleads Guilty to Concealing Assets in Bankruptcy

PEORIA, Ill. - A Brimfield, Ill., man, Thomas L. Bledsoe, 52, today pled guilty to concealing insurance policies valued at more than $100,000 from the U.S. Trustee and creditors in his bankruptcy petition. Bledsoe entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade. Sentencing is scheduled on Nov. 22, 2017.

According to court documents and statements during today’s hearing, on Mar. 18, 2009, Bledsoe filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. On April 2, 2009, Bledsoe, a life insurance agent, filed a Schedule B form which required that he disclose any interest he owned in any insurance policies, to name the insurance company for each policy and to itemize the surrender or refund value of each policy, to which Bledsoe answered “none.”

On April 30, 2009, at a meeting of creditors, Bledsoe testified under oath that the voluntary petition and schedules were correct. After a creditor filed an objection, during a hearing on Oct. 26, 2009, Bledsoe testified that he owned a life insurance policy with a cash value of $5,000. Bledsoe subsequently amended the Schedule B form to indicate that he owned a single life insurance policy with a cash value of $3,000.

In fact, as Bledsoe admitted during today’s proceeding, he owned four life insurance policies, with a combined cash value of more than $50,0000, from Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, and three life insurance policies, with a combined cash value of more than $57,000, from Canada Life Insurance Company. In addition, Bledsoe admitted he failed to disclose possession of three cashier’s checks totaling more than $65,000, and a 2005 Montesa motorcycle. Bledsoe also falsely stated that he had not received any money from the sale of his residence, when in fact, he had received money from the sale of the residence as part of his divorce, approximately two years prior to the bankruptcy proceeding.

The charges resulted from a referral by the U.S. Trustee for Indiana and Central and Southern Illinois (Region 10) to the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. The charges were investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in collaboration with the Central Illinois Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group coordinated by the U.S. Trustee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris is prosecuting the case.

“Together with Acting U.S. Attorney Hansen and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue fraud and abuse in bankruptcy cases,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Southern Illinois, Central Illinois, and Indiana (Region 10). The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, with additional offices in South Bend, Ind., and Peoria, Ill.

The statutory maximum penalty for concealing assets in bankruptcy proceedings is up to five years in prison. The maximum statutory penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes as sentencing is determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.