Former cop will do time for fraud in bankruptcy

Rocky Mountain News

Published April 22, 2005 at midnight

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A former Breckrenridge police officer will spend five months in prison followed by five months in home detention for not reporting her Jeep Cherokee in her bankruptcy filing four years ago.

Corrinne Purucker, 44, of Federal Way, Wash., was sentenced in U.S. District Court Thursday for one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of fraudulent transfer and/or concealment of assets in contemplation of bankruptcy.

She was also sentenced to three months of supervised release and ordered to pay $22,000 in restitution to the bankruptcy trustee.

Purucker was serving as a Breckenridge police officer when she bought a 2001 Jeep Cherokee on Nov. 15, 2001. The purchase was made by her roommate, using money which Purucker's parents had sent her a week earlier. The title of the vehicle was in the roommate's name, but Purucker drove it.

On Dec. 20, 2001, Purucker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and reported $64,000 in debts. She did not list the Jeep Cherokee among her assets.

After the bankruptcy proceedings ended and her debts were discharged, Purucker arranged to have her roommate "give" her the Jeep Cherokee, and transferred the title to Purucker. Her bankruptcy case was reopened in November 2003 after the ruse was discovered.

Purucker was indicted for bankruptcy fraud and fraudulent transfer on June 23, 2004. At that time, she was working as a police officer in Washington state.

A federal jury found her guilty of the charges on Sept. 15, 2004. Since the charges are felonies, Purucker can no longer work as a law enforcement officer and is legally barred from owning or carrying a firearm.

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