WEST DES MOINES MAN SENTENCED ON BANKRUPTCY FRAUD CHARGE
DES MOINES - On September 1, 2009 Marvin Mitchell, age 47, West Des Moines, was sentenced to a term of 18 months imprisonment for one count of bankruptcy fraud, announced United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt also ordered Marvin Mitchell to serve a 2 year term of supervised release after his incarceration, and assessed him to pay $100 to the Crime Victim Fund.
Marvin Mitchell pleaded guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud on February 28, 2008. Marvin’s wife, Marlene Mitchell, was previously sentenced to 24 months probation, and his father, Maurice Mitchell, was sentenced to one year probation.
Marvin Mitchell and his wife, Marlene, filed bankruptcy in March, 2002 and had previously created shell companies into which they transferred farm land and farm machinery. They concealed this property from the chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee. The bankruptcy lasted nearly four years, based on the financial manipulations of Marvin with the shell companies, his failure to disclose bank accounts, and his false statements at bankruptcy hearings.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chapter 7 Trustee, the U.S. Trustee’s Office, and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Iowa.