iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
In April 2011, Kulvir Singh Cheema, the owner of a trucking company in Ripon, Wisconsin, filed for bankruptcy and got away with over $2 million in debt and more has pleaded guilty.
Now almost a decade later, it has come light that Cheema’s bankruptcy was a false declaration, as announced by U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced this week.
According to court documents, Cheema, 59, provided false information about his employment, income, residence, and other facts while filing for bankruptcy. He also concealed certain assets such as trucks and bank accounts that he controlled and that was held in other names.
It was also found that this was a premeditated move, in January 2010, Cheema fraudulently transferred ownership of his residence in Ripon from himself to another person. Cheema’s untruthful statements on his bankruptcy petition were designed to give the false impression that he was bankrupt with no assets.
Through those falsehoods, Cheema was able to discharge over $2 million in debt, keep his trucks and business running, and repay a close friend. The value of the debts and assets concealed as a result of Cheema’s deception was between $150,000 and $250,000.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cheema is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. on October 22. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
