IRVING, Texas — A North Texas man who federal prosecutors say filed for bankruptcy 10 times in six years has pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Michael Shaub, 62, of Irving, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
According to court records, Shaub filed 10 bankruptcy cases between January 2012 and August 2023.
Shaub and his wife bought a house in Irving, Texas, incurring a mortgage loan secured by their ownership interest in the property, court documents show. In January 2012, Shaub filed a Chapter 13 voluntary bankruptcy petition, which prosecutors say was dismissed without prejudice for failing to timely pay the Bankruptcy Trustee as specified in the Debtor’s Plan.
Over the next seven years, he filed five additional bankruptcy petitions, the last of which was dismissed with prejudice, barring him from filing any more bankruptcies for two years, through May 2021, according to court documents.
However, that didn't stop Shaub.
Less than five months after the dismissal, and without his wife's knowledge he filed a seventh bankruptcy petition under her name.
The fraudulent petition – which Shaub admitted was intended to circumvent the court order prohibiting him from filing bankruptcies for two years – was dismissed without prejudice in October 2019, court documents show.
About two months after that dismissal, Shaub filed for bankruptcy for the eighth time. In that petition, Shaub only listed one of his bankruptcies and not the bankruptcy that resulted in the order barring him from filing.
In February 2020, a month after the eighth petition was filed, the Bankruptcy Court dismissed it with prejudice and barred Shaub from filing any more bankruptcies for a period of five years.
However, court documents reveal that two years later Shaub filed a ninth bankruptcy, which was also dismissed with prejudice. This time, the court barred him from filing any bankruptcies for a period of ten years, through June 2032.
And yet just 14 months later, in August 2023, Mr. Shaub filed his tenth bankruptcy petition, which was dismissed with prejudice the same day.
Federal authorities say Shaud faces up to five years in prison.
