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A federal grand jury in Indianapolis has indicted a Fishers woman on charges of wire fraud and forging the signature of a federal judge on bankruptcy documents.
Christi Lee Dodd, 51, first filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with the Southern District of Indiana in 2015. A few months later, a federal bankruptcy judge issued a signed discharge order releasing Dodd from liability for any remaining debts not resolved in the bankruptcy proceedings.
In 2019, Dodd filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy with the Southern District but later decided not to proceed and moved to have the case dismissed. According to Dodd’s bankruptcy filing at that time, she had $8,198 in assets and $136,840.89 in liabilities.
The petition was dismissed in 2022. The court did not issue a discharge order in the 2019 case, and none of her unpaid debts were resolved.
In 2023, Dodd allegedly created and forged a discharge order purporting to absolve her debts related to the 2018 Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Authorities said Dodd emailed the fraudulent document to a financial institution purportedly proving that she had received a discharge in her 2019 bankruptcy case so that she could obtain a line of credit to pay outstanding debts owed by the trucking business she owned.
The emailed document was purportedly filed in Dodd’s second bankruptcy case with the heading, “DISCHARGE OF DEBTOR IN A CHAPTER 13 CASE.” The indictment alleges the forged document was in fact created by Dodd using the discharge order from her first bankruptcy under Chapter 7 and contained the forged signature of Judge Jeffrey J. Graham, who issued the 2015 discharge order.
Dodd’s attorney Leslie D. Wine with the Indiana Federal Community Defenders did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a news release that “protecting the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system is an important priority of the Department of Justice. Our office is committed to working closely with our partners at the U.S. Trustee Program to uphold the law and protect the interests of debtors and creditors.”
The FBI and U.S. Trustee’s Office is investigating this case in collaboration with the Southern District of Indiana Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group.
“The filing of a fraudulent court order containing the forged signature of a bankruptcy judge strikes at the very core of the integrity of the bankruptcy system and will not be tolerated,” Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Indiana and the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois said in a news release.
If convicted, Dodd faces up to 25 years in federal prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Eakman is prosecuting the case.
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