A south Alabama woman who has filed for bankruptcy 11 times is now on court-mandated home confinement after she falsified a judge’s order to try to live in a $450,000 house.

Lucinda “Lou” Miller, 48, was convicted last year of making false statements under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday announced a federal judge has sentenced Miller to five years of probation of which the first year will be spent on electronic monitoring.

Miller was in Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2020 when she obtained the court’s permission to buy a car, according to her guilty plea. The bankruptcy judge, in a written order, authorized Miller to spend no more than $18,000 on the vehicle.

Then, in a ploy to unlawfully squat in a home, Miller offered to buy a home for $450,000.

When the seller’s realtor pressed Miller’s realtor to provide proof of funds for the purchase, Miller delivered to her realtor a falsified order purporting to authorize her to purchase a home for up to $500,000, altered from the legitimate order permitting her to buy a car.

Miller’s realtor then provided the false court order to the seller’s realtor, authorities said.

The seller’s realtor contacted the Bankruptcy Court Clerk’s Office to verify the order’s validity.

The clerk’s office notified the court of the fake order, and ultimately, Miller lied under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding when she said she knew nothing about it.

Authorities said Miller has filed for bankruptcy in Mobile 11 times since 1995.

She is now barred by the bankruptcy court judge whose order she faked from filing for bankruptcy anywhere in the U.S. for 30 months due to her abuse of the bankruptcy court proceedings.

“The bankruptcy court is a mechanism for people in financial trouble to seek a fresh start by liquidating their assets or getting the court’s protection to extend the time to pay back their creditors,” said Sean P. Costello, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

“This defendant abused the bankruptcy court and exploited its authority for her own benefit when she ginned up a bogus court order and then lied about it under oath,’’ Costello said.