NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

JANUARY 24, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEXICAN NATIONAL INDICTED FOR BANKRUPTCY FRAUD,

MISUSE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Mexican national was indicted by a federal grand jury today for bankruptcy fraud and misusing a Social Security account number.

Oralia Gonzales, 34, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City.

Count One of the federal indictment alleges that on June 28, 2005, Gonzales falsely represented, through documents she caused to be filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, that a certain Social Security number had been assigned to her.

Count Two of the federal indictment alleges that Gonzales filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, and with the intent to defraud, caused a false declaration to be made regarding a matter material to the bankruptcy proceeding. Gonzales, under penalty of perjury, allegedly provided a false Social Security number.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard N. Staples. It was investigated by the Office of Inspector General – Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Office of the U.S. Trustee.

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