William Henry Romm, III, Bankruptcy Fraud, Virginia 2022

Glen Allen Man Pleads in Bankruptcy Scam

RICHMOND, Va. – William Henry Romm, III, 44, of Glen Allen, has pleaded guilty to a mail fraud scheme during his bankruptcy proceeding in an effort to conceal the true extent of his financial assets from the Bankruptcy Trustee and his numerous creditors.

According to court documents, Romm filed a Voluntary Petition for Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in January 2019. In filing that petition, Romm deliberately concealed his recent receipt of both a sizeable life insurance policy payout and a parcel of real estate, both of which he had received following his father’s death. Romm shortly thereafter sold that real estate and spent the bulk of those concealed proceeds on, among other things, a boat for his personal use.

Over the course of the next two years, Romm continued to conceal his receipt and dissipation of additional funds, including more than $268,000 that he received from the sale of his late father’s residence. Romm’s efforts to conceal also included concealing his marital status from the Court and Trustees by representing himself as single in his court filings; opening bank and brokerage accounts in his wife’s name, but over which he maintained control; using those accounts to hide the real estate sale proceeds; drafting checks on the bank account by forging his wife’s signature; and using the brokerage account to trade stocks he purchased with those real estate sale proceeds.

Romm is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett. The FBI’s Richmond Field Office investigated the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-41.

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