A former Iowa resident, Branden Patten, 40, of Colorado Springs, CO, formerly of Toddville, Iowa, was sentenced to one year in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud.
Patten received the prison term after a September 23, 2015, guilty plea to one count of making a false declaration in a bankruptcy proceeding.
In a plea agreement, Patten admitted that, in 2012, he was the owner and sole stockholder of a number of local companies, including National Glass, BLP (doing business as Apple Creek Carpet Care), and Patten Property Management.
On August 15, 2012, after Patten and his companies experienced financial difficulties, a lender cut off his line of credit. Patten then filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
In Patten’s bankruptcy filings, which were made under penalty of perjury, he knowingly failed to disclose that, in the two weeks preceding his bankruptcy filing, he had signatory authority over three bank accounts that were opened for his son’s newly formed corporations.
Patten also failed to disclose that he had transferred two vans equipped with carpet cleaning equipment to his son. Finally, Patten failed to disclose a new corporation he had formed in June 2012 called “Mission Slimpossible, LLC”, a boat lift he had purchased, a $1,000 deposit to a Canadian resort, and a lease interest in a BMW.
Patten was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Patten was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment and fined $3,000.
A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to repay the Federal Public Defender $3,300. Patten must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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