Talk about brotherly love. A woman’s sibling posed as her spouse to help her steal thousands of dollars from her (actual) husband’s 401k.
Patricia Bippus-Allen, 58, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud, subornation of perjury, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
She made multiple calls to a 401k service center purporting to be her husband, while also faxing supporting documentation to the service center for a 401k hardship withdrawal.
In sum, Bippus-Allen made multiple unauthorized withdrawals from her husband’s 401k account for a total of over $24,000. She also took out over $16,000 in loans on her husband’s 401k account without his consent, knowledge, or authorization.
In September 2010, Bippus-Allen filed a joint Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition in both her and her husband’s name in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. It was done without her husband’s knowledge or consent.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, she created several documents bearing the forged signature of her husband of over 25 years.
Then, in March 2011, Bippus-Allen attended a meeting of creditors which her husband was required to attend as well. David Bippus, her brother, posed as her husband.
Bippus-Allen and David Bippus both stated under oath that he was the husband and that all schedules and documents filed in the bankruptcy proceedings were true and correct.
Bippus-Allen was convicted of wire fraud stemming from her transferring money from her husband’s 401k account into her own personal bank accounts without his consent, knowledge, or authorization.
She was ordered to pay $112,354 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following her sentence. Her co-defendant brother, David Bippus, was sentenced in May 2017 to two years of probation and $10,000 in restitution for conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud and making false statements in bankruptcy court.