Jason Gillis, Bankruptcy Fraud, Oregon 2024

Grimy Times has learned that a local businessman has been denied bankruptcy discharge for his role in defrauding women and elderly individuals in the state of Oregon.

The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) recently obtained a judgment denying a bankruptcy discharge to Jason Gillis, a door-to-door salesman who sold vacuums, air filters, and related products. Gillis crafted fraudulent schemes targeting women he pursued as romantic partners and their elderly parents.

One such scheme involved soliciting investments in his businesses, but using the money primarily for personal expenses. His victims included a 79-year-old woman recovering from a stroke. Gillis ran up debts using the identities of the woman and her daughter without their knowledge or consent, and even arranged for the older woman to take out a mortgage on her home, purportedly under duress.

Gillis persuaded the woman to transfer more than $100,000 to a business bank account that he controlled, then diverted a significant amount of the funds to pay for personal expenses. He also used some of those funds to lease a recreational vehicle valued at about $150,000 from another woman in her seventies, whose daughter he briefly dated.

Gillis filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in August 2024 amid several lawsuits and judgments based on claims of breach of contract, fraud, and theft by deception. An investigation by the USTP’s Portland office revealed that to avoid collection efforts, Gillis concealed his interests in several businesses by transferring nominal ownership to victims while he retained full control and by forging signatures on forms filed with the Oregon Secretary of State.

Gillis did not respond to or defend against the USTP’s complaint to deny his bankruptcy discharge, leading to a default judgment in the USTP’s favor. As a result, Gillis remains personally liable for his debts, including more than $1.7 million in unsecured debts listed in his bankruptcy schedules.

“Bankruptcy is not a safe haven for fraudsters,” said Acting U.S. Trustee Jonas V. Anderson for Region 18, which includes the District of Oregon. “The U.S. Trustee Program, as the watchdog of the bankruptcy system, is committed to rooting out deceptive schemes that harm innocent victims.”

The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders – debtors, creditors, and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust

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