Former Edmonton Oiler Owner Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Perjury
The former owner of the NHL Edmonton Oilers, Peter Pocklington, has pled guilty to committing bankruptcy perjury. The case offers a serious lesson about bankruptcy.
They the world is ruled by the golden rule – he who has the gold, rules! Well, the recent economic meltdown has certainly made many people question how true this is. While people like you and me are hurting something fierce, so are those who are very wealthy.
Experts Your Questions Now.
Peter Pocklington is the long time owner of the Edmonton Oilers. He owned the team when the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, took the non-descript team from the non-descript Canadian city to the top of the hockey world by winning the Stanley Cup multiple times. Alas, all good things seem to come to an end and that was the case here. Pocklington constantly had money problems and eventually sold both Gretzky [to the Los Angeles Kings] and the team.
Pocklington eventually went down the tubes or at least claimed as much. He filed bankruptcy in 2008 in Southern California claiming total debts in excess of $19 million. His assets? He claimed he had $2,900 to his name less than ten years after selling the Oilers. Many of his creditors must have found this a dubious claim because investigations were obviously undertaken.
From A Bankruptcy Lawyer Now.
Pocklington was arrested in 2009 during a raid of his home. Authorities alleged that he had failed to disclose his control of two bank accounts and facilities when he filed bankruptcy in 2008. He blamed the omissions on an error in his filing. Facing 10 years in prision, he pled to a perjury and now faces probation and house arrest.
So, what can we learn from this case? No, not how to own an NHL team! Instead, the lesson is simple. You must disclose everything, assets and debts, when filing bankruptcy. The courts will give you a second chance when it comes to your finances, bit the penalties for lying in the bankruptcy court are huge. In this case, Pocklington was lucky to escape the 10 year prison term. Don’t make the same mistake he did. You probably wil not be as lucky.