Defrauding a creditor is a crime of intent, which means that a prosecutor must show that you intended to defraud a creditor.

Defrauding means to knowingly obtain, by deception, some benefit for oneself or another, or to knowingly cause, by deception, some detriment to another.

Some elements of defrauding creditors are:

To remove, conceal, destroy, encumber, convey, or otherwise deal with one’s property with the purpose to defraud one or more creditors.
Misrepresenting or refuse to disclose the existence, amount or locations of one’s property, or any other information regarding one’s property with the purpose to defraud one or more creditors

Some potential sentencing and fines could be:

If the value of the property involved is less than $1,000, the violation could be 1^st degree misdemeanor with up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
If the value of the property involved is between $1,000 and $7,500, the violation could be a 5^th degree felony with 6 – 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
If the value of the property involved is between $7,500 and $150,000, the violation could be 4^th degree felony with 6 – 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
If the value of the property is greater than $150,000, the violation could be a 3^rd degree felony with 9 – 36 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000

So let’s say you sell some of your property on Craigslist, can you be convicted of defrauding a creditor? Well, defrauding a creditor is a crime of intent, which means that the prosecutor must show that you intended to defraud a creditor by selling items online. If you did not intend to hide your assets from a creditor, your defense might be that you sold something on Craigslist because you didn’t need it and wanted to make some money, and you didn’t realize that it violated the creditor’s rights to the property.

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