Fraud

This panel explores recent trends in high profile fraud-driven bankruptcies and the impact on the various constituencies involved; provides practical tips and strategies for identifying, addressing and litigating fraud in the bankruptcy context, including the types of claims and potential defenses commonly at issue in fraud cases; and provides practical tips and strategies for identifying, addressing and litigating fraud in the bankruptcy context.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify recent trends in high-profile fraud-driven bankruptcies and their impact on various constituencies involved in the case.Attendees will recognize common types of fraud claims and potential defenses that arise in the bankruptcy context.Attendees will apply practical strategies for identifying, addressing, and litigating fraud-related issues in bankruptcy proceedings.

Financial fraud schemes frequently come to light when businesses are in distress, causing restructuring professionals and bankruptcy courts to deal with the fallout. This panel examines how fraud trends can shift with economic cycles and developing technology, including key moments when misconduct begins to surface, particularly around market peaks and downturns. The panelists discuss various schemes — financial statement misstatements, asset-shifting through multi-tiered entities and Ponzi structures — sharing insights on emerging risks, warning signs, and how practitioners can better anticipate and respond.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand how financial fraud schemes have evolved in recent years and the unique challenges they present in bankruptcy proceedings.Attendees will identify common indicators of fraudulent conduct and assess the tools available to practitioners for investigating suspicious transactions and structures.Attendees will apply lessons learned from recent fraud cases to develop proactive strategies for protecting estates, creditors and other stakeholders from emerging fraud risks.

This panel explores issues that arise in fraud-based bankruptcy cases from both legal and financial perspectives, including managing a case when the fraudsters may still be around, dealing with fraudulent books and records, preserving the value of the business, investigating and litigating fraud and related claims, and working with (or against) the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies.Learning Objectives:Attendees will identify common indicators of fraud in bankruptcy cases and evaluate the legal and financial challenges that arise when fraud is suspected or confirmed.Attendees will analyze strategies for preserving estate value, managing unreliable books and records, and conducting investigations in fraud-based bankruptcy proceedings.Attendees will assess the tools available for pursuing fraud-related claims and understand the roles of the U.S. Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies in bankruptcy cases involving alleged misconduct.

This panel explores how theft by contractor claims intersects with nondischargeability actions, including fiduciary defalcation and fraud theories.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze theft by contractor claims in the construction context and assess how such claims give rise to nondischargeability litigation under the Bankruptcy Code.Attendees will evaluate the legal standards applicable to fiduciary defalcation, fraud, and related causes of action in contractor-debtor disputes.Attendees will examine litigation strategies, evidentiary considerations, and practical advocacy techniques used in prosecuting and defending theft by contractor nondischargeability actions.

In recent years, market dynamics have led to the emergence of schemes that are less sophisticated than the fraud cases of the early 2000s, but more pervasive in their reach into the capital markets. This panel will explore today's new wave of fraud cases, and will examine emerging trends, remedies and resolution mechanisms in recent cases in a point/counterpoint format.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will analyze emerging trends in modern fraud cases and how recent market dynamics have contributed to more pervasive fraudulent schemes in the capital markets.Attendees will evaluate how current fraud patterns differ from earlier high-profile cases and what this means for detection, enforcement, and case strategy.Attendees will assess available remedies and resolution mechanisms for addressing contemporary fraud cases through a point-counterpoint examination of recent developments.

Fraud can surface at any stage of a transaction—and its impact can be devastating. This session guides attendees through the key phases where fraud risk emerges, spotting early warning signs during underwriting, recognizing post‑closing concerns that signal deeper issues, and deploying the appropriate remedies when misconduct becomes clear. Panelists will share real‑world examples, investigative approaches, and strategic responses used by lenders, advisors, litigators, and special servicers.Learning Objectives:Attendees will learn to:Identify early warning signs of fraud during underwriting and recognize post-closing red flags that indicate potential misconduct in real estate transactions.Apply investigative approaches and evidentiary standards used by lenders, special servicers and advisors to substantiate fraud claims.Formulate strategic legal remedies and recovery options available to victims of real estate fraud, including litigation strategies and alternative dispute resolution.

This session will cover recent Supreme Court and Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Circuit cases that you need to know about.

Join ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle for this fun and informative session as he and six judges address recent Second Circuit cases, and predict how the circuit will rule on tough questions on the way up. An attendee favorite!

This panel provides an in-depth, dynamic discussion on (1) forensic analyses employed to identify and untangle fraud and maximize recoveries; (2) standing to bring certain claims in fraud cases; (3) claims often pursued in Ponzi and other fraud cases, including aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and conspiracy; (4) the Ponzi scheme presumption, clawback and defenses; and (5) in pari delicto and its applicability, along with other potential defenses. The panelists highlight and address recent case law developments in fraud cases and their impact on the various constituencies involved.

Hosted by Bankruptcy Litigation & Real Estate Committees Fraud is an ever-present concern in bankruptcy cases, manifesting in various forms from False Claims Act violations to Ponzi schemes. This panel will provide practical tips and strategies for identifying, addressing and litigating fraud in the bankruptcy context.