FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
AUGUST 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BELTSVILLE MAN SENTENCED FOR BANKRUPTCY FRAUD
AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
BALTIMORE, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced David Kissi, age 58, of Beltsville, Maryland, today to 30 months plus one day in prison followed by three years of supervised release following his conviction by a federal jury on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, three counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of criminal contempt of court, all arising from years of bankruptcy and civil proceedings, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Goodwin also imposed a $10,000 fine. Judge Goodwin is a visiting federal judge from the Southern District of West Virginia, who presided over the case in lieu of a Maryland federal judge, because other federal judges from the District of Maryland were witnesses in the case.
Mr. Rosenstein stated, “Mr. Kissi attempted to cheat his creditors by committing bankruptcy fraud, and he obstructed the judicial system by filing frivolous lawsuits and threatening court officers. Anyone who abuses our legal system to defraud and harass people must be held accountable.”
According to trial evidence, Kissi declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on behalf of his company, DK&R, in 2000, but instead of following the rules governing bankruptcy proceedings, he diverted assets and sought by various means to keep from paying his creditors. He threatened both a bankruptcy judge and the trustee who was appointed to oversee the liquidation of DK&R’s assets, and filed countless frivolous lawsuits against individuals involved in the bankruptcy proceedings and in related civil proceedings in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the hope of avoiding payment of his just debts. When U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Greenbelt entered a preliminary injunction in 2003 to stop Kissi from filing these lawsuits, Kissi disregarded the court’s order.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Biran and Barbara Sale, who prosecuted the case.