Central District of California - 2012 Pro Se Annual Report

Debtor ID Program

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As described in greater detail in the Court’s 2011 report, the Debtor ID Program attempts to identify non-attorney third parties who file bankruptcy petitions on behalf of debtors. The Court retains a copy of the driver’s license of every third party who files the case on behalf of the debtor. The Program, adopted by the Northern and San Fernando Valley Divisions in 2011, expanded to the other three divisions in 2012. In order to track patterns across the District, a web-based application called “Third-Party Filer Tracker” went live in July 2012. Developed by IT staff in cooperation with San Fernando Valley Operations staff, the program collects data about and tracks the activity of BPPs and other third-party filers throughout the District. The cases tracked through the Debtor ID Program are generally where either a disclosed BPP did not observe all requirements of 11 U.S.C. § 110 or no assistance was disclosed at all.

Follow up from the identification of third party filers was conducted differently in each of the divisions. In 2012, in the San Fernando Valley Division, there were 243 hearings where debtors were ordered to appear before a judge to explain who filed the bankruptcy on their behalf and 330 hearings where the third party filer was ordered to appear. Where BPPs were disclosed and the BPP brought in the bankruptcy petition and filing fee, the Court issued an order to show cause to explain why there had not been a violation of 11 U.S.C. §110(g), which prohibits a bankruptcy preparer from collecting or receiving “any payment from or on behalf of the debtor for court fees in connection with filing the petition.” In the case of runners, whether a BPP was disclosed or not, an order to show cause was issued to find out if they were undisclosed bankruptcy preparers in violation of §110(b) and whether there was a violation of §110(g) by the runner bringing in the filing fee.

The Northern (Santa Barbara) and Riverside Divisions held similar hearings. The Riverside Division held hearings for 291 debtors and 388 for third party filers. In Santa Ana, third party filers bringing cases in for pro se debtors are examined at the time the case is filed where possible. In the Los Angeles Division, the United States Trustee has been following up on the Debtor ID Program by bringing motions under § 110. The hearings in the Debtor ID Program, increased §110 motions, and many relief from stay motions have all continued to shed light on whether someone is assisting the debtor in the pro se cases where no BPP was disclosed.

  1. Debtor ID Program
  2. Bankruptcy Petition Preparer (BPP) Tracking
  3. Chapter 7 Success
  4. Chapter 13 Failure
  5. Burden on Court Staff
  6. Fraud and Abuse
  7. Language Barriers
  8. Professional Involvement in “Pro Se” Fraud Cases