Rebecca C. Buell, Concealment of Bankruptcy Assets, Idaho 2013

A Post Falls woman has admitted to concealing assets during her bankruptcy case, federal authorities announced today.

Rebecca C. Buell, 48, of Post Falls, Idaho, waived her right to indictment and pleaded guilty to concealment of bankruptcy assets, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson said. An information was filed against Buell on December 16, 2017.

According to the plea agreement, Buell admitted that she concealed $38,960.53 in assets when she filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013. The charge of concealment of bankruptcy assets is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

As part of her plea agreement, Buell is set to be sentenced on April 25, 2018, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). The investigation is part of the efforts of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to combat financial crimes.

Since its formation, the task force has filed over 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants, over the past three fiscal years.

Buell’s guilty plea marks another success in the efforts to root out financial crimes in the region. The case serves as a reminder to those who attempt to deceive the system and highlights the importance of transparency in financial dealings.