18 U.S.C. § 156 — Knowing disregard of bankruptcy law or rule

(a) Definitions. This subsection defines two terms. A "bankruptcy petition preparer" is a person who prepares, for pay, a document to be filed — but this does not include the debtor's own attorney or that attorney's employee. A "document for filing" means a petition or any other paper a debtor prepares to file in a United States bankruptcy court or district court in a case under title 11 (the bankruptcy code). (b) Offense. If a bankruptcy case, or a related legal proceeding, gets dismissed because a bankruptcy petition preparer knowingly tried, in any way, to ignore what title 11 or the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure require, that preparer has committed a crime. The preparer can be fined under this title, sent to prison for up to one year, or both.