Woman accused of forging papers

LITTLE ROCK — A Nashville woman is accused of forging the signature of a federal bankruptcy judge on documents purporting to free her of debt.

Terah Mumau is accused of penning Judge Richard Taylor’s name Nov. 2, 2009, on an order “discharging debtor after completion of Chapter 13 plan,” according to an indictment handed down last week in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Arkansas in Texarkana.

Taylor is the chief bankruptcy judge in the Eastern and Western federal districts in Arkansas.

Mumau and her husband, Joshua Mumau, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 16, 2009, and the case was assigned to Judge James Mixon. Chapter 13 bankruptcy provides for the restructuring and repayment of debt according to a court-approved plan.

Mumau’s bankruptcy docket does not include an order from Mixon or Taylor discharging debt. The docket entries indicate that Mumau paid a little more than $400 on more than $33,000 in debt, not including a mortgage.

The bankruptcy case of Mumau’s husband was dismissed for failure to make plan payments, according to the case docket. Mumau’s case was “dismissed for other reason,” the docket says.

At the time of the bankruptcy filing, the couple lived in Nashville. In March 2009, Mumau filed an address change with the court indicating she moved to Fort Worth.

Mumau has been charged with knowingly forging the signature of a bankruptcy judge and with bankruptcy fraud. She is to appear for arraignment next week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in Texarkana.