18 U.S.C. § 154 — Adverse interest and conduct of officers

submitted 78 years ago by ch. 645 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 129 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

A court-appointed custodian, trustee, marshal, or other officer breaks the law if they knowingly buy property from an estate they oversee. They also break the law if they knowingly block interested parties or the U.S. Trustee from inspecting the estate's records. Violators are fined and lose their position.

This section applies to a "custodian, trustee, marshal, or other officer of the court" who oversees a bankruptcy estate. This person breaks the law if they: (1) knowingly buy, directly or indirectly, any property from the estate they are in charge of, in a case under title 11, the Bankruptcy Code; (2) knowingly refuse to let interested parties reasonably inspect the estate's documents and accounts, when the court has ordered them to allow it; or (3) knowingly refuse to let the United States Trustee reasonably inspect those documents and accounts. Anyone who does any of these things must be fined under this title, and they automatically lose, or forfeit, their office, which then becomes vacant.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

A person who, being a custodian, trustee, marshal, or other officer of the court—

(1)

knowingly purchases, directly or indirectly, any property of the estate of which the person is such an officer in a case under title 11;

(2)

knowingly refuses to permit a reasonable opportunity for the inspection by parties in interest of the documents and accounts relating to the affairs of estates in the person’s charge by parties when directed by the court to do so; or

(3)

knowingly refuses to permit a reasonable opportunity for the inspection by the United States Trustee of the documents and accounts relating to the affairs of an estate in the person’s charge,

shall be fined under this title and shall forfeit the person’s office, which shall thereupon become vacant.

Source credit: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 690; Pub. L. 95–598, title III, § 314(a)(2), (e)(1), (2), Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2676, 2677; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(G), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 103–394, title III, § 312(a)(1)(A), Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4139; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(a)(1), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3497.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1948Enacted · Act of June 25, 1948, ch. 645 · 62 Stat. 690
1978Amended · Pub. L. 95-598 · 92 Stat. 2676, 2677
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2147
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-394 · 108 Stat. 4139
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-294 · 110 Stat. 3497

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 645 on 1948-06-25.

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