Tulsa, Oklahoma - A Tulsa resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney R. Trent Shores for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
According to the information and written plea agreement filed in the case, Michael J. Fletcher, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, filed a bankruptcy petition in August of 2011 in which he stated that he had no legal or equitable interest in any real property. In November 2011, the Department of Justice filed a complaint objecting to the discharge of Fletcher’s federal income tax debts on the grounds that Fletcher had concealed his interest in real property located on 110th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the trial in that matter in October 2014, Fletcher testified that his parents owned the house on 110th Street and that the down payment for the purchase was funded by a loan from his daughters to his father. In pleading guilty Fletcher admitted that he was the source of the funds used for the down payment, and that he lied during his bankruptcy court testimony when he denied this fact.
United States District Court Judge John Dowdell scheduled Fletcher’s sentencing for December 23, 2019.
The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Regal are prosecuting the case.