In this case, the husband engaged in a mail fraud scheme to defraud insurance companies relative to properties he owned. He plead guilty and was sentenced to prison as well as over a million dollars in restitution. He began to hide assets and he and his wife filed for divorce.
After the District Court entered its sentencing order, the divorce settlement was approved. Ms. Henricks moved to contest the liens that were entered on the marital property. After a lengthy period of time, the District Court entered an order accounting for what is owed given the divorce. Ms. Henricks appealed.
The Seventh Circuit first determined that the District Court had jurisdiction to make these determinations in the criminal case. It also decided that there was no due process violation especially given Ms. Henricks’ extensive attempts to contest these matters in the District Court.
The Seventh Circuit remanded for further proceedings finding that both parties and the District Court did not select the proper temporal starting point for property determinations. The Seventh Circuit held that the proper starting point was the date of the sentencing judgment and since the divorce occurred after that date, the issue of the divorce entering into the asset analysis was improper.
The Seventh Circuit remanded for further proceedings to make determinations regarding the assets as of the date that the sentencing order was originally entered by the District Court.
The case is United States v. Henricks; 17-2382