A Dallas woman was sentenced on Friday to one year and one day in federal prison for making false statements during her multiple bankruptcy filings, Dallas Morning News reported Friday. Estela Martinez, 54, had pleaded guilty in August 2013 to one count of making a false statement under penalty of perjury related to bankruptcy filings. Martinez’s prosecution is part of U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña‘s effort to crack down on bankruptcy fraud in the Northern District of Texas. Under the office’s Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative, seven people have been charged with various felony offenses since February 2013. Four of the defendants have entered guilty pleas, two of whom have been sentenced. Another defendant is scheduled for trial, and two others remain fugitives, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Martinez was unsuccessful the first time she filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and she filed five more times between then and 2012.
