11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O4

18 U.S.C. § 153

It’s a Federal crime for the trustee or custodian of a bankruptcy estate to

knowingly and fraudulently embezzle or appropriate any property belonging to the

bankruptcy estate.

The Defendant can be found guilty of this crime only if all the following

facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) on or about the date charged a bankruptcy case docketed as Case

Number __________ was pending in the United States

Bankruptcy Court for ________ District of _________, and

_______________ [doing business as] was the Debtor;

(2) the property or interest described in the indictment was part of the

bankruptcy estate of the Debtor;

(3) the Defendant had access to the property as a trustee or custodian

of the bankruptcy estate; and

(4) the Defendant knowingly and fraudulently embezzled, spent,

transferred, or appropriated to the Defendant’s own use property

belonging to the bankruptcy estate.

A “Debtor” is a person or corporation that’s the subject of a Federal

bankruptcy case.

When a debtor files a voluntary petition for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy

estate is created. Among other things, it includes all the property owned by the

Debtor and the Debtor’s claims on or rights to other property, no matter where the

property is or who possessed it when the bankruptcy case began.

The Bankruptcy Court for the __________ has the authority and power to

appoint a custodian or trustee to administer the bankruptcy estate of a Debtor. The

custodian or trustee is responsible for the control of all the property belonging to

the bankruptcy estate.

The heart of the charge in the indictment is the knowing and fraudulent

embezzlement or appropriation of property belonging to the Debtor’s estate.

“Fraudulent” means to knowingly deceive or mislead someone, usually for

personal gain.

To “embezzle” or “appropriate” means to wrongfully take someone’s

property and spend it, transfer it, convert it to personal use, or convert it to

someone else’s use.