18 U.S.C. § 157
Section 157 · Bankruptcy fraud
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 139 court decisions — leading case United States v. McBride (2006)
Most recently applied in United States v. Jan Kowalski (June 2024)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 152 · 28 U.S.C. § 157 · 28 U.S.C. § 1334
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
A person who, having devised or intending to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud and for the purpose of executing or concealing such a scheme or artifice or attempting to do so—
(1) files a petition under title 11, including a fraudulent involuntary petition under section 303 of such title;
(2) files a document in a proceeding under title 11; or
(3) makes a false or fraudulent representation, claim, or promise concerning or in relation to a proceeding under title 11, at any time before or after the filing of the petition, or in relation to a proceeding falsely asserted to be pending under such title,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2010—Par. (1). Pub. L. 111–327, §2(b)(1), struck out “bankruptcy” after “involuntary”.
Pars. (2), (3). Pub. L. 111–327, §2(b)(2), struck out “, including a fraudulent involuntary bankruptcy petition under section 303 of such title” after “title 11”.
2005—Pars. (1) to (3). Pub. L. 109–8, which directed insertion of “, including a fraudulent involuntary bankruptcy petition under section 303 of such title” after “title 11”, was executed by making the insertion after “title 11” wherever appearing, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Effective Date of 2005 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 109–8 effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under Title 11, Bankruptcy, before such effective date, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109–8, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 11.
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 22, 1994, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under Title 11, Bankruptcy, before Oct. 22, 1994, see section 702 of Pub. L. 103–394, set out as an Effective Date of 1994 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 11.