Skip to main content
banner

Orlando Businessman Cites Fifth Amendment in Bankruptcy Case

Orlando Businessman Cites Fifth Amendment in Bankruptcy Case

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on

An Orlando businessman, Ishrat Rehmetullah, is citing the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination while arguing in federal bankruptcy court that he shouldn’t have to disclose all of his assets, the Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday. Rehmetullah and his wife, Shama, filed a personal bankruptcy in 2014, citing almost $800,000 in debts, which included a $572,000 foreclosure on his home in Dr. Phillips. The debts were discharged and the case was closed. But the case was reopened in 2015 when some creditors alleged that Rehmetullah had attempted to flee the country, and had failed to report a collection of gold coins, diamonds and real estate he owns in Karachi, Pakistan; those allegations were detailed in a filing by a court-appointed trustee assigned to the case, Richard Webber. Webber recently sought a judge’s order requiring Rehmetullah to report additional assets. Instead of complying, or denying the allegations, Rehmetullah’s attorney filed a response saying that reporting additional assets could violate his client’s Fifth Amendment rights.