SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. — A Scott Depot man will spend one month in prison for fraudulently making a false declaration in a bankruptcy case.
William Howard Gregory, 73, was sentenced Tuesday. He must serve three years of supervised release following his prison term with five months on home detention. Gregory has also been ordered to pay $24,662.56 in restitution.
Court documents and statements said that Gregory filed false documents in his bankruptcy case on June 1, 2018. Gregory admitted to not disclosing the existence of his five life insurance policies, which had a collective surrender value of approximately $235,000.
According to the United States Trustee Program, Gregory also failed to disclose the sale of his 50 percent ownership in a hardware store, which amounted to $400,000, along with cash deposits of $124,900 in his personal checking account on the day he filed for bankruptcy, $193,000 in accounts receivable owed to him, and a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette.
The United States Trustee Program is under the Department of Justice and protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system. The Trustee’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia made the criminal referral of this case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson also commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.