Steve McVay, Bankruptcy Fraud, California 2017

SAN FRANCISCO – A Morgan Hill entrepreneur has been sentenced to 56 months in prison for concealing assets in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Steve McVay, 68, of Morgan Hill, Calif., was sentenced by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge, following a guilty plea entered by McVay on January 25, 2017.

McVay, who bought and sold real estate and did “hard-money” lending, became involved in several business ventures that ultimately failed. He filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California on February 24, 2010, seeking relief for approximately $1.5 million in debts.

According to papers filed in connection with the case, McVay knowingly and fraudulently concealed two bank accounts, one of which he opened in his wife’s name. The two bank accounts contained a total of more than $45,000. McVay admitted to signing the bankruptcy documents with the intent to hide assets from his creditors, the United States Trustee, the court, and other persons charged with control or custody of the bankruptcy estate.

McVay was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 28, 2016, charging him with two counts of concealing assets in bankruptcy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(1), and one count of presenting false testimony in bankruptcy proceedings, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(2). Pursuant to the plea agreement, McVay pleaded guilty to the first count of concealment; the remaining charges were dismissed at sentencing.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Koh sentenced McVay to three years of supervised release and scheduled a hearing for June 14, 2017, to determine the amount of restitution McVay must pay his victims. McVay will begin serving his prison sentence on June 28, 2017.

This case was the result of an investigation by the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lucey prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen.

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