United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group: GREENWICH MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO BANKRUPTCY FRAUD AND TAX FRAUD

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSEPH JAMES RUSSO, age 44, of 25 North Street, Greenwich, Connecticut, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of tax fraud. RUSSO’s plea of guilty was accepted this afternoon by United States Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport.

During today’s plea proceeding, RUSSO admitted that he knowingly and fraudulently concealed assets of his bankruptcy estate from the bankruptcy Trustee. RUSSO also admitted that he willfully failed to file a tax return for the year 2001, a year in which he earned more than $157,000. According to documents filed with the Court, RUSSO failed to disclose approximately $141,180 on his bankruptcy petition and in a subsequent sworn statement to the bankruptcy Trustee. The monies were derived from the sale of real estate in New Canaan in which RUSSO had an interest. RUSSO today admitted that he took steps to hide the money from the Trustee and creditors by placing the money in an account in the name of his father.

When he is sentenced by United States District Judge Janet B. Arterton on August 12, 2005, RUSSO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the bankruptcy fraud charge, and a maximum term of imprisonment of one year and a fine of up to $25,000 in the tax fraud charge.

“This prosecution demonstrates that the United States Attorney’s Office in this District is committed to detecting, investigating, and prosecuting those who violate our bankruptcy laws,” U.S. Attorney O’Connor stated. “Concealing assets from bankruptcy trustees appointed to collect them in order to avoid paying one’s creditors will not be tolerated in our District’s bankruptcy system. The conduct charged today not only threatens the public’s confidence in the bankruptcy system, but also wastes the resources of the federal bankruptcy courts.”

U.S. Attorney O’Connor commended the participants in the District of Connecticut’s Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group, including representatives of the United States Attorney’s Office, the Office of the United States Trustee, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, the Social Security Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

The U.S. Trustee Program is a Justice Department component that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the civil bankruptcy laws.

U.S. Attorney O’Connor expressed his gratitude for the efforts of special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service, who investigated this matter. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann M. Nevins.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov