Peoria County Man Sentenced for Concealing Assets in Bankruptcy

PEORIA, Ill. -- A Brimfield, Ill., man, Thomas L. Bledsoe, 53, has been sentenced for concealing insurance policies valued at more than $100,000 from the U.S. Trustee and creditors in his bankruptcy petition. On Nov. 22, U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade ordered that Bledsoe serve the first 10 months of a two-year period of supervised release in home confinement. Bledsoe was also ordered to pay a fine of $3,000.

On July 25, 2017, Bledsoe pled guilty to concealing assets related to his bankruptcy petition filed in March 2009, under Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In April 2009, Bledsoe, a life insurance agent, answered “none” on the 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. 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 in October 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, Bledsoe 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 prosecuted the case.

“Concealing assets in a bankruptcy proceeding is a crime,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, United States Trustee for Central and Southern Illinois and Indiana (Region 10).  “We are grateful to all of our law enforcement partners in this case, and in particular to U.S. Attorney Childress for his commitment to pursuing those who commit bankruptcy fraud and abuse the bankruptcy process for their own personal gain.”  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 Peoria, Ill., and South Bend, Ind.”