16.4 Related Crimes

• Library: Bankruptcy Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

16.4 RELATED CRIMES

In addition to the criminal statutes focused directly upon conduct in or concerning bankruptcy cases and related proceedings as specified in chapter 9 of title 18, a variety of other federal criminal statutes may need to be

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considered by the bankruptcy practitioner. Activities that may constitute criminal conduct under these statutes may also be crimes under similar or analogous state criminal laws, and particular states may have additional laws that proscribe the conduct. However, the statutes discussed below do not implicate any state or local laws or ordinances. Therefore, they are not intended as an exhaustive survey but as an attempt to address the statutes most often implicated by conduct that arises in bankruptcy cases.

16.401 Aiding and Abetting. 18 U.S.C. § 2 defines the crime of aiding and abetting as follows:

(a) Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.

(b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal.

Among the few reported decisions interpreting or applying this statute is United States v. Knoll, ¹⁴⁷ where the debtor's attorney was convicted of aiding and abetting the debtor's making of a false oath under 18 U.S.C. § 2, even though the debtor was acquitted of any crime under section 152.

16.402 Conspiracy. 18 U.S.C. § 371 defines the crime of conspiracy as follows:

If...