HONOLULU –A jury in United States District Court found Michelle Malufau, 47, of Laie, Oahu, guilty today of bankruptcy fraud related to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy that she filed in 2011. Specifically, after a four day trial and less than an hour of deliberation, the jury convicted Malufau of making false statements under penalty of perjury on documents filed in that 2011 bankruptcy, and also of testifying falsely under oath at a hearing in that same proceeding.
Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that the evidence presented at trial showed that Malufau knowingly and fraudulently concealed at least three assets that she owned and/or controlled during her 2011 bankruptcy: a house on the North Shore of Oahu, which had over $322,000 in equity in it; a bank account; and rental income. Malufau received a discharge of over $1 million of debt through that proceeding.
Malufau faces up to five years in prison on each charge when she is sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Helen Gillmor on February 27, 2014.
The investigation that resulted in the charges against Malufau was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Nammar and Andrea Hattan handled the prosecution.
Source: US Attorney