Liesa Strope, formerly Liesa Vestering, 39, of Meridian, Idaho, pled guilty in Boise yesterday to making false statements in a petition in bankruptcy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

According to the plea agreement, in June 2009, five years after a bankruptcy court in Kansas discharged Strope and her then-husband’s debts under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Strope filed a joint petition in Idaho for bankruptcy with her current husband. She failed to state that she had previously filed for bankruptcy in Kansas in 2004. Strope signed the petition under penalty of perjury. At the July 2009 bankruptcy hearing, Strope was asked, under oath, if the information in the Idaho bankruptcy documents was true and correct, Strope answered “yes,” but was silent when asked if she had filed for bankruptcy before. Persons who obtain a discharge in bankruptcy under Chapter 7 are not entitled to another discharge for eight years.

The charge carries a maximum punishment of up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and up to three years supervised release.

Sentencing is scheduled in Boise on April 5, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.