Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You continue your investigation.
You think to yourself, "She could be telling the truth. It is possible.
On the other hand, $150,000 is a lot of money, even with the high cost of
dentistry and so on. I hate to cause this woman any more trouble than she
is in already, but I think there are enough red flags here that I should dig
a little deeper."
After doing your detective work, you discover that a number of purchases
were made for electronic equipment. When you confront the woman, she tearfully
admits that she has hidden a number of items in her sister's basement.
You are very thankful that you found out in time. If the woman had lied
in court, she could have faced a jail sentence, and you could have been
responsible for paying for the assets yourself out of the bond that you have
posted.
"I always have to be in detective mode," says Thomas Miller, a bankruptcy
trustee. "Sometimes people will 'rat' on the bankrupt. Or sometimes
there will be huge credit card debts that would have been difficult to accumulate
without having assets to show for it."