A certified public accountant and disbarred attorney admitted in San Diego federal court Monday that he defrauded his creditors by filing for bankruptcy and concealed assets and income valued at nearly $1.5 million.
J. Douglass Jennings, 72, of Rancho Santa Fe, pleaded guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of tax evasion, admitting that a $5.9 million criminal judgment should be entered against him.
According to prosecutors, Jennings practiced what he described in an advertisement as a “faith-based” approach to financial planning, with some referring to him as “Uncle Doug.”
Jennings admitted in his bankruptcy filings that he defrauded his unsecured creditors by intentionally concealing assets including:
- a stock interest in a real estate venture valued at about $1 million;
- a 53-foot luxury yacht known as the “Sea Eagle,” valued at approximately $150,000; and,
- antique silver items valued at $165,139.
“Concealing assets compromises the very core of our bankruptcy system, which is designed to protect both debtors and creditors,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson. “A bankruptcy petitioner who fails to make a full good faith disclosure risks a variety of serious consequences, including criminal prosecution.”
Jennings is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 11.
–City News Service
