Fishers woman indicted after allegedly forged judge’s signature on bankruptcy document

FISHERS, Ind. — A Fishers woman has been indicted in federal court after she allegedly forged the signature of a federal judge.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, 51-year-old Christi Lee Dodd has been charged by a federal grand jury with wire fraud and forging the signature of a federal judge.

“Protecting the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system is an important priority of the Department of Justice,” Zachary Myers, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the release. “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.”

In 2015, Dodd filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal court. The release said in April 2015, 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 bankruptcy again in federal court, this time a Chapter 13 bankruptcy which was eventually dismissed in federal court. The court alleges that Dodd created and forged a discharge order related to her 2019 bankruptcy petition and emailed it to a financial institution.

The release said that Dodd reportedly emailed this to the financial institution to show them that she had received a discharge in the 2019 case, when she had not. Dodd was reportedly attempting to obtain a line of credit to pay outstanding debts owed by the business she owed.

Dodd reportedly used the discharge order from her first bankruptcy proceeding and forged the signature of the judge who signed the 2015 order for the 2019 document.

“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, a United States trustee for Indiana and the central and southern Districts of Illinois (Region 10), said in the release. “We are grateful for U.S. Attorney Myers and our law enforcement partners for their commitment to protect the integrity of the bankruptcy process in the Southern District of Indiana., as demonstrated by this indictment.”

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