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Keywords

hearingplealeasecompliancedue processobjectiongarnishmentrestitution
statuteappealhearingtrialcorporationdue processinternational lawobjectiongarnishment

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United States v. Bankas, 717 Fed.Appx. 637 (Mem)

Facts

Ernest Bankas, originally from Ghana, obtained multiple advanced degrees while fraudulently submitting false information on student-loan applications to secure federally guaranteed loans. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in prison, along with a restitution order of $340,810 to the U.S. Department of Education. After his release, the government initiated wage garnishment to collect the unpaid restitution, leading to Bankas's objection based on financial hardship.

An “obsessive quest for education,” in his trial counsel’s words, led Bankas to devise a scheme in which he would falsify information on student-loan applications in order to obtain federally guaranteed student loans. Originally from Ghana, Bankas earned three Master’s degrees from different American universities, a law degree from Southern Methodist University, and a doctorate in philosophy and public international law from Durham University in the United Kingdom. But over a two-year period, Bankas also submitted false promissory notes to several lenders, most notably the Great Lakes Higher Education Guarantee Corporation.

Issue

Did the district court violate Bankas's due process rights by denying his request for a hearing regarding his claim of financial hardship in the context of wage garnishment?

On appeal Bankas challenges the judge’s denial of a hearing under 28 U.S.C § 3202(d) as a violation of his due-process rights under the Fifth Amendment.

Rule

Under 28 U.S.C. § 3202(d), a hearing is permitted only on limited grounds, which do not include financial hardship.

But § 3202(d) permits a hearing only on limited grounds, and financial hardship is not one of them.

Analysis

The court determined that Bankas's objection did not fall under the grounds for a hearing as specified in § 3202(d), which includes the validity of claims of exemption and compliance with statutory requirements. Since Bankas's claim was solely based on financial hardship, the court concluded that he was not entitled to a hearing, and thus the denial did not constitute a due process violation.

Because Bankas did not base his objection on any of the statute’s listed grounds, he was not entitled to a garnishment hearing; the denial of such a hearing, then, did not deprive him of due process.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's judgment, concluding that the denial of a hearing did not deprive Bankas of due process rights.

We have agreed to decide the case without oral argument because the briefs and record adequately present the facts and legal arguments, and oral argument would not significantly aid the court.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case because the court found that Bankas was not entitled to a hearing regarding his financial hardship claim, as it did not meet the statutory grounds for such a hearing.

The government is entitled to collect up to 25% of Bankas’s non-exempt disposable income or 30 times the minimum wage (whichever is less), regardless of any financial hardship it may cause him.

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