Feds get J. Douglass Jennings Jr. to confess

J. Douglass Jennings Jr., a tax planner who went bankrupt and was disbarred, but continued practicing as an accountant, today (September 11) pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and and tax evasion.

Jennings, a resident of Rancho Santa Fe, has been a high-profile planner, at one time advertising heavily on Roger Hedgecock's radioshow, when it was going. Like many of his ilk, he played the religion theme, claiming he was a "faith-based" lawyer. He and his wife, Peggy, who is in real estate, were a team. She pleaded guilty to bank fraud on August 16. Among other things, she admitted that she had forged her mother's signature and transferred funds into her mother's account to make it appear that the mother was rich.

Some may wonder why it has taken the federal government so long. In 2013, bankruptcy court judge Louise DeCarl Adler charged Jennings and his wife with "embezzlement and/or larceny" in a transaction with "fraudulent and/or felonious intent." Judge Adler said the Jennings' actions were "willful and malicious." The Adler letter was sent to the U.S. Attorney's office. TheReader has followed this couple's activity since 2014, and a number of people inquired about why he and she had not been nailed.

J. Douglass Jennings Jr. pleaded guilty to concealing $1.453 million in assets in the couple's Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) filing. Jennings admitted that he owes the Internal Revenue Service $5.9 million. The maximum penalty for bankruptcy fraud is five years of imprisonment; that is also the maximum penalty for tax evasion.