From the "It Was Bound To Happen Eventually" File.

Peter H. Pocklington, a Canadian businessman who once owned the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, was arrested in the U.S. on charges he concealed assets during his bankruptcy.

Pocklington, 67, a resident of Palm Desert, California, is accused of making false statements and false oaths when he filed for bankruptcy in August, U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien in Los Angeles said today in a statement. Pocklington faces as long as 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the statement.

In his personal bankruptcy filing, Pocklington listed debt of about $19.6 million and just $2,900 in assets, which raised concerns he wasn’t disclosing all his holdings, according to prosecutors. Pocklington didn’t disclose two bank accounts as well as the contents of two storage units, prosecutors said.

Pocklington pleaded not guilty at a hearing today in federal court in Riverside, California, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, in an e-mailed statement. Pocklington will remain in custody until at least March 13, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Oswald Parada is scheduled to hear the government’s arguments that Pocklington should be held without bail, Mrozek said.

Michael Lusby, who represents Pocklington in the bankruptcy case, said he hadn’t seen the charges. If the charges are as they are described in the press statement, they are “overblown” and a “witch hunt,” he said.

“He doesn’t have any assets,” Lusby said in a phone interview. “He gave away all his assets 12 years ago.”

The National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky, won five Stanley Cups when Pocklington owned the team, according to his Web site. In 1998, Pocklington, whose other Canadian businesses included real estate and car dealerships, sold all his business interests and moved to California, according to his Web site.

The case is U.S. v. Pocklington, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Riverside.)

Source - Bloomberg.com