Man declares bankruptcy with 34 cents while hiding millions

On Sep. 8, a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, convicted Jihoon Park for his role in an investment fraud scheme and defrauding a bankruptcy court.

Park used his personal relationships and his previous affiliation with a large financial institution to convince members of his community to let him invest their life savings and retirement money with a promise of high returns, as per court documents and evidence presented at trial.

But he transferred over $2.5 million from the unsuspecting community members to himself to buy a house and cryptocurrency.

As a fraud victim sued Park, he transferred assets to his wife and hid crypto assets worth millions of dollars before filing for bankruptcy.

In the bankruptcy court, he falsely claimed that he had only 34 cents in financial assets and no crypto assets. The preposterous lie was meant to avoid paying his victim creditors any money back from his fraud, according to prosecutors.

The jury convicted him of three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bankruptcy fraud following the trial. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years on the wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the bankruptcy fraud counts.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case. Park's court sentencing is scheduled on Dec. 10.

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Sep 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Bankruptcy News & Analysis section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.