Boulder Doctor Pleads Guilty To Bankruptcy Fraud

DENVER, CO – A Boulder-based doctor and surgeon pled guilty to bankruptcy fraud Friday in U.S. District Court, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Cathleen Van Buskirk, age 55, from Erie, Colorado surrendered her passport and was released on $150,000 bond after being indicted by a federal jury in Denver on Dec. 4, 2017. She was charged with counts of fraud, fraudulent transfer and concealment and money laundering.

The case stemmed from an Aug. 2014 bankruptcy filing by Van Buskirk, owner of Alpine Spine Center, PC, in which it was alleged she "concealed somewhere between $250,000-$500,000" of her property that should have been part of the bankruptcy estate to protect it from creditors. The FBI got involved in the case in 2015.

Van Buskirk secretly squirreled away her property by giving a friend and her sister gold and silver coins, foreign currency, a diamond ring, and $48,000 in cash to hold for her, prosecutors alleged. The indictment said Van Buskirk owned "valuable jewelry, a fact which she wanted to conceal," so she altered a document meant for the bankruptcy trustee.

She also routed $170,000 through various shell companies that were registered in the names of others but which Van Buskirk actually controlled.

Van Buskirk is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Martinez on Nov. 28, 2018, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Read the indictment here:

Image via Shutterstock

Stay up-to-date on Boulder news with Boulder Patch! There are many ways for you to connect and stay in touch: Free newsletters and email alerts | Facebook