Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud

A Toms River resident concealed nearly $200,000 in assets during a bankruptcy petition, and pleaded guilty in federal court today to the fraud charge, federal officials said.

Bryan Young, 39, of Toms River, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court, announced District Attorney Paul Fishman.

The charges stem from a 2008 Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition Young filed, according to court documents.

Young — the sole owner and operator of landscaping business, Brys Landscaping aka AAA Interlocking Pavers — failed to include $200,000 in personal assets from the U.S. Trustee, the bankruptcy case trustee, and creditors, Fishman said.

Among the claims:

• Young claimed in the petition that he had $100 in cash on hand, $3,000 in a checking account, $3,700 in household goods and furnishings, $450 in clothing, a 2006 Ford F-350 valued at $8,000, and no other personal property of any kind not already listed in the petition.

• Young actually had approximately $174,865 in at least two financial accounts, approximately $13,000 in household goods and furnishings, and an additional 2003 Ford truck valued at approximately $10,000, around the time he filed the petition.

Fishman said the charge of bankruptcy fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is currently scheduled for August 7.

turned himself in to federal authorities in February as part of an investigation claiming he concealed more than $1 million in assets, including $250,000 in eBay income.

Fishman praised the work of special agents of the FBI, and Region 3 U.S. Trustee Roberta DeAngelis and the Newark office of the U.S. Trustee, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He said the case was an example of cooperation under the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark. Young was represented by Keith Hirschorn Esq. of Hoboken.