Central District of California - 2012 Pro Se Annual Report

Bankruptcy Petition Preparer (BPP) Tracking

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Now that an automated flag is placed on cases disclosing compensation to a BPP, the Court is able to look at results of pro se cases filed with and without a disclosed BPP. In 2012, 5.7 percent of all the cases filed in this district disclosed assistance by a BPP. Thus, only 21 percent of pro se cases disclosed a BPP’s involvement (See Table 4). The other 79 percent of the pro se cases were presented to the Court as though no one assisted the debtor for compensation. From data collected through the Debtor ID Program and other hearings and pleadings, there is no doubt that undisclosed people assisted thousands more cases and were paid for their services.

Table 4

  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