Seattle男子隐瞒遗产与生意权益：397万美元破产免责被法院撤销
美国华盛顿州金县 Seattle 一名男子因隐瞒遗产权利与生意权益，被法院撤销超过390万美元的破产免责。美国司法部美国受托人计划（USTP）11月5日公布了这一庭审结果。
10月20日，美国华盛顿西区破产法院作出判决，撤销 Nevin Middleton 的第七章破产免责。判决生效后，Middleton 仍须对自己的债务负责，案件结案后债权人可继续向他追偿。
Middleton 最初为解决一家失败的定制住宅建筑生意所欠债务，申请第十一章重组破产，案件后来转为第七章清算。2024年4月，他获得第七章免责，免除的无担保债务共3,967,997美元，其中大多是投资其项目的债权人的索赔。
数月后，法院就 Middleton 对部分房产主张宅地豁免的争议举行证据听证。正是在那次听证上，Middleton 首次披露：他在申请破产之后、获得免责之前，曾从已故父亲的遗嘱认证遗产中收到两笔共约39,600美元的分配款，钱打入一个由他控制的企业银行账户。但他从未在破产清单与报表中列明自己的遗产权利与在该企业中的权益。
USTP 的 Seattle 办公室调查发现，Middleton 曾指示担任遗产执行人的姐姐，把款项汇入那个负责其破产案件的私人受托人并不知道的企业账户。而在 USTP 提起撤销免责之诉的庭审上，Middleton 改口称这些钱是姐姐给他的借款。法院权衡证据后判 USTP 胜诉，认定 Middleton 以欺诈手段取得免责，并明知而欺诈地未向第七章受托人报告这些款项。
美国受托人计划主任 Stephen V. Falanga 表示，破产免责是重新开始的关键，但债务人必须对自己的财务状况保持透明，该计划将坚定维护破产制度的诚信、打击不诚实的债务人。美国受托人计划负责监督破产案件的管理，在全国设有21个区域、82个外地办公室。（来源：美国司法部）
Seattle Man Loses $3.9 Million Bankruptcy Discharge After Concealing Inheritance and Business Interest
A Seattle man in King County, Washington, who concealed an inheritance and his interest in a business has lost his bankruptcy discharge of more than $3.9 million after a trial victory by the Justice Department's U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), the Department announced on November 5.
On October 20, the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington entered a judgment revoking Nevin Middleton's chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge. As a result, Middleton remains liable for his debts, and creditors are free to pursue payment from him after the case is closed.
Middleton originally filed an individual chapter 11 reorganization case to resolve debts stemming from a failed custom home construction business, but the case was eventually converted to a chapter 7 liquidation. In April 2024, Middleton received his chapter 7 discharge of $3,967,997 in unsecured debt, most of it involving claims from creditors who had invested in his projects.
Several months later, at an evidentiary hearing over his claim to a homestead exemption on some of his real estate, Middleton disclosed for the first time that after filing for bankruptcy but before receiving his discharge, he had received two deposits totaling about $39,600 in distributions from his late father's probate estate to a business bank account he controlled. He had failed to list his inheritance rights and his interest in the business in his bankruptcy schedules and statements.
An investigation by the USTP's Seattle office found that Middleton had instructed his sister, the executor of the probate estate, to direct the funds to a business account that the private trustee administering his bankruptcy case was unaware of. At trial on the USTP's complaint to revoke his discharge, Middleton changed his story and testified that the funds were loans from his sister. After weighing the evidence, the bankruptcy court entered judgment in the USTP's favor, concluding that Middleton had obtained his discharge by fraud and had knowingly and fraudulently failed to report the funds to the chapter 7 trustee.
'The bankruptcy discharge is the key to a fresh start, but debtors must be transparent about their financial affairs to receive it,' said USTP Director Stephen V. Falanga. The USTP oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, with 21 regions and 82 field offices nationwide. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Washington 的美国司法部罗伯特·肯尼迪大楼。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington. By APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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