Are Falsified Documents a Factor in the San Bernardino Bankruptcy?

Some have claimed that the San Bernardino City officials may have falsified documents in the past in an attempt to avoid displaying their difficult situation. The information is currently being investigated by outside agencies, but a city attorney raised the accusation in public during a council meeting on Tuesday night, July 10^th. Though the city councilmembers declined to comment, they chose to file for bankruptcy protection that same night. San Bernardino is now the third California city to file for bankruptcy in recent months.

The City Attorney James penman refused to tell the Los Angeles Times which agencies were currently looking into the falsified document allegations, but says that he arranged a meeting with one of these investigators back in February. The city attorney told the press that both the city mayor and the city council are aware of the allegations. The Mayor claims that he was stunned about the falsified documents, and that if the allegations are true he had nothing to do with them.

Additionally, the mayor said that he knew there may have been some slight mistakes in the city’s mid-year budget review and some of the audited financial statements. Yet he said that these mistakes were due to sloppy work and poor analysis, not to purposeful deceit. He says that he does not think that there was any criminal intent involved in the documents. San Bernardino has been in trouble for false information before. Back in 2011, the San Bernardino International Airport was inspected by agencies and found to be riddled with mismanagement.

Officials were charged with financial mismanagement in the case. If you are in a tough financial situation, the best option is to admit it. If you need to, bankruptcy is a viable option that can help you to eliminate debt. Don’t lie about your finances, or you may end up in a legal battle that you could have avoided by simply embarking on your bankruptcy.