WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Florida West Palm Beach Division has ruled in favor of the federal government's request to require a computer financing scheme operator to pay a $13.4 million judgment despite filing for bankruptcy.
According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, BlueHippo Funding LLC, BlueHippo Capital LLC and its former owner Joseph Rensin violated a 2016 federal court order by running a fraudulent computer financing operation. Instead of paying the contempt judgment, Rensin filed for bankruptcy and asked the court to discharge the judgement, the commission said.
“In this case the fraudster tried to avoid justice by declaring bankruptcy,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Andrew Smith said in a statement. “When the FTC gets a judgment against a proven wrongdoer, we will not stop until our work is complete, no matter how many legalistic tricks and loopholes the scammer tries to employ.”
The Florida federal bankruptcy court stated that because of Rensin's fraudulent actions, the judgment could not be discharged. The funds recovered in the judgment will go to consumers who were scammed by Rensin, the commission said.