Banned bankruptcy preparer stays ahead of law

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http://hamptonroads.com/2013/12/banned-bankruptcy-preparer-stays-ahead-law



Banned bankruptcy preparer stays ahead of law
By Tim McGlone
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 15, 2013

The Virginia Beach single mother of two grade-school children already had been feeling crushed under the weight of mounting debt when she lost her job in late 2012.

Short on cash, she turned to a website that offered cut-rate assistance with filing for bankruptcy. For $185, USA Bankruptcy Associates filled out her paperwork. She filed the 67-page document with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk.

Within days, the court notified her that the paperwork had problems. Key information was missing, and the preparer did not sign it. She frantically emailed the company only to learn she could never find an actual person to speak with.

“Our documents are prepared on servers and by preparers located outside the United States,” the company said in a return email. The court “cannot hold you responsible for what you do not know.”