SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A Goshen woman was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of suborning perjury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Ronya Phillips, 47, will serve 18 months of home detention.

Phillips was previously a bankruptcy petition preparer in the Northern District of Indiana, according to case documents.

She admitted to bribing certain debtors and clients to falsely state on their bankruptcy documents that they had paid her half of what they actually paid her for her services, according to case documents.

Phillips also persuaded clients to testify falsely under oath and she herself submitted false sworn statements about how much money clients had paid her, case documents said.

“Abuse of the bankruptcy system by having consumers falsify documents and provide false testimony strikes at the very core of the integrity of the bankruptcy system, undermines public confidence in that system and is a practice against which consumers need to be protected,” stated Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Indiana, Central Illinois, and Southern Illinois.  “I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Clifford Johnson and our law enforcement partners for their strong commitment to combating fraud and abuse in bankruptcy cases.”