Powers and limits of a bankruptcy Judge?

[NetBook]

Does a bankruptcy judge have the ability to throw out a bankruptcy case on their own(without filing an adverse possession) if there is massive amounts of evidence of fraud involving many different people who are listed as " creditors" ?

I see many Pawn shops listed as creditors which is strange because pawnshops will just sell the items you gave them to cover the loan normally. I was told that this might happen if the pawnshop was given stolen merchandise.

I found a news paper articles were the individual was charged with being in possession of stolen property and identity thief. Seems like they may have sold pawned stolen merchandise which was repossessed by the police .

Is a bankruptcy judge only concern about if their debt is more than their assets or would they throw out a case if they believe the person was trying to get away with fraud and theft ?

Also, does a bankruptcy judge have the power to actually award a victim of a crime a monetary judgment against the person filing for bankruptcy or is their power limited to allowing or discharging debt?

Thanks

 

[bigun]

A bk judge rules on motions brought before their court.
They are not going to exam every case they are assigned. Either the trustee or, the creditor is going to need to file a motion with a reason that a discharge shouldn't be granted.Then, a hearing is scheduled and both parties have an opportunity to present their evidence.

A judge can sanction creditors who violate the automatic stay or file adverserial proceeding that are weak.
A judge can also dismiss a bk if evdience shows it was filed fraudulently or in bad faith.