Asset Search Blog : Asset Search & Hidden Assets : Lawyer & Attorney Fred Abrams : Tax Fraud, Asset Investigations

The General Inspector of Financial Control in Poland received an anonymous tip letter about alleged suspicious activity.  This tip ultimately related to Ukraine resident Sergly Savchuk;  Prime Invest L.L.C. of Florida and the Sesa Polska & Tecza Mazur limited liability companies of 50 Platowcowa Street, Warsaw:

The Warsaw Circuit Prosecutor's Office next started their financial fraud investigation of the two companies at 50 Platowcowa Street.  These Warsaw prosecutors presumably wanted to determine whether the Platowcowa Street companies, Prime Invest LLC and Mr. Savchuk, had laundered money in violation of Article 299 of Poland's penal law.

It soon became apparent that Prime Invest L.L.C was a suspected shell company that had maintained a bank account in Poland.  Mr. Savchuk might have also beneficially owned Prime Invest L.L.C. and had possibly used it in 2004 for the nominee purchase of the former "Evita" mineral water plant in Biskupiec.

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This "Asset Search News Roundup" mentions the sentence of a former Louisiana congressman and the 14,700 U.S. taxpayers who sought partial amnesty from the IRS:

• A November 13th FBI press release explained that Former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for public corruption and other crimes.  As I discussed at the August 11th "Asset Search News Roundup", the former congressman was found guilty of soliciting bribes and then hiding them through money laundering.  He was also convicted of honest services wire fraud, racketeering and conspiracy.

• Ms. Lynnley Browning's article "14,700 Disclosed Offshore Accounts", reported that a number of U.S. taxpayers have voluntarily disclosed their secret foreign bank accounts as part of an IRS partial amnesty program.  As I wrote at "Some Abusive Offshore Tax Avoidance Schemes At UBS", U.S. taxpayers who own a foreign bank account with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the same at Schedule B, Part III of their U.S. Individual Tax Return Form 1040. They must also separately file a TDF 90-22.1, (a.k.a. a "FBAR" form).

"14,700 Disclosed Offshore Accounts" indicated that the disclosing taxpayers will be treated with leniency despite their failure to make the above-mentioned filings.  It also stated that the taxpayers may have been prompted to make their disclosures because of the settlement of U.S.A. v. UBS AG, 1:09-cv-20423.  In that case, the IRS tried to compel UBS to supply foreign bank account information belonging to suspected U.S. tax cheats.  As fully described by "UBS & Its 'John Doe' Summons", the IRS sought this information by serving the John Doe Summons depicted below: 

Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams

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A complaint verified by Former Premier Michael Misick of the Turks and Caicos Islands, claims hip- hop pioneers David Mays and Raymond Scott breached the Z & M Media LLC operating agreement, at Exhibit "A".  The Former Premier, Mr. Mays, Mr. Scott and others, are believed to hold ownership interests in Z & M Media, which is the operating company for the biweekly  "Hip Hop Weekly Magazine". 

The complaint additionally seeks damages for more than a million dollars from Mr. Mays and Mr. Scott because of an alleged fraud / embezzlement scheme. Amended Complaint at ¶¶ 161-164.  It asserts that Mr. Mays and Mr. Scott might have misappropriated cash from Z & M Media. Id. at ¶¶ 33-44. 

In responding to the complaint, Mr. Mays denied any wrongdoing via his opposing affidavit.  He also stated that Hip Hop Weekly was "the bible of the hip hop industry" with an estimated readership of one million. Opposing Affidavit ¶4.  Since February 2009, the magazine has been sold by the "CVS" chain and at many other retailers throughout the U.S., according to a letter from its distributor:

On April 20, 2009 the Court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. Mays and Mr. Scott, which prohibited any violation of the above-mentioned operating agreement.  This restraint was continued by the Court's Order dated May 19, 2009.  Via their July 14, 2009 answer, counterclaim and third-party complaint, Mr. Mays and Mr. Scott however, alleged that the Former Premier had unjustifiably brought the complaint to gain complete control of Z & M Media.  The Former Premier would then supposedly sell Z & M Media and its assets to fund his defense against a "likely criminal prosecution by the British government". (Answer, Counterclaim & Third-Party Complaint, at pp. 23-24, ¶3).

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A tax filing at the "Financials Page" of its website reveals that the Alavi Foundation had assets in 2007 with a fair market value of nearly $88 million.  Federal prosecutors meanwhile, filed an amended complaint last Thursday against The Alavi Foundation.  It sought asset forfeiture, as reported by Reuters, The New York Times and an FBI press release.

According to these news accounts, the gravamen of the amended complaint is that the nonprofit Alavi Foundation allegedly concealed the Iranian Government's true beneficial ownership of a N.Y.C. Fifth Avenue building. The Alavi Foundation may have done this along with Bank Melli and ASSA CO. LTD and ASSA CORP. 

As described at  "Bank Melli Accused Of Hiding Its Fifth Avenue Assets", Bank Melli, ASSA Co. LTD. and ASSA CORP. have all been linked to terrorist financing.  All three are currently the subject of Weapons of Mass Destruction sanctions programs and U.S. economic sanctions.

After the filing of the amended complaint, the Court also acted pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §981 and issued a Warrant of Seizure for Alavi Foundation monies maintained at Sterling National Bank:

Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams

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The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), is the bellwether for the fight against global money laundering and terrorist financing.  Its leading role is recognized by U.S. lawmakers in the Bank Secrecy Act at  31 U.S.C. §5311, which states:  

"FATF’s Forty Recommendations on Money Laundering and the ... Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing are the recognized global standards for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF has engaged in an assessment process for jurisdictions based on their compliance with these standards." 

By following the FATF's Forty Recommendations and Special Recommendations, governmental entities try to detect assets hidden by money launderers, identity thieves and other financial fraudsters.  Consistent with these Recommendations, the FATF just made its October 30th statement calling for greater transparency.  A higher degree of transparency could help uncover assets fraudulently concealed in financial institutions across the globe.

The FATF explained in its statement, that enhanced transparency was needed at financial institutions regarding customer due diligence; beneficial ownership; legal persons / legal arrangements (i.e. nominees); secrecy laws and cross-border exchange of information.

A few "Asset Search Blog" articles exploring these sort of topics are:

1. "Concealing Assets By Circumventing Customer Identification Rules"
    
2. "Beneficial Owners Concealing Their Foreign Bank Accounts"
    
3. "Nominees & Hidden Assets"
    
4. "Financial Discovery & Foreign Bank Secrecy Laws"
    
5. "Asset Search News Roundup: September 23, 2009"

Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams

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On the radar this week is: former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik's guilty plea and following the money trail to Canada.

• After I wrote "Bernard Kerik Is Jailed While His Trial Is Delayed", the former police commissioner pleaded guilty to hiding assets in a tax fraud and public corruption charges.  The details of Mr. Kerik's November 5, 2009 guilty plea are described by Reuters in "Ex-head of NY police pleads guilty to corruption".  His sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Robinson, is set for February 18, 2010.

• My October 29th "Asset Search News Roundup" named Switzerland, Panama, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom as jurisdictions which could have been used by some Minneapolis money managers to launder the proceeds of a suspected securities fraud. 

Following the money trail of this suspected securities fraud appears to have also led to Canada, as explained by the article "$300 million Oxford trail leads into Canada". 

Perhaps most notable, is that each one of the above-mentioned locations is generally considered by financial investigators to be a high-risk geographical location.  This means that a nexus to any one of them, can be a red flag for money laundering. 

 Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams

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In "Forfeiture & The DEA's Asset Search" Donnie the former DEA Special Agent spoke about the effectiveness of asset forfeiture.  In that article, Donnie said: 'asset forfeiture... can stop those who supply pseudophedrine to the meth super labs and Mexican cartels'.  "A Strategy Of Seizing Sinaloa Drug Cartel Assets" also recently explained that asset forfeiture was a vital tool in the fight against the Mexican drug cartels.

Notwithstanding the benefits of an ethical asset forfeiture program, there can be occasional abuses.  Eight plaintiffs raise the issue of supposed improper seizure or asset forfeiture in James Morrow et. al. v. City of Tenaha Deputy City Marshal Barry Washington et. al., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Index No. 2:08-CV-288.  These plaintiffs claim in their civil rights lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C §1983, that some law enforcement officers in or near Tenaha Texas, had essentially seized assets in a racial profiling scheme. 

Furthermore, an August 20, 2009 Memorandum Decision & Order reveals that the presiding judge intends to certify the plaintiffs' case as a class action lawsuit under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(2).  The plaintiffs who are African-Americans, assert they were driving in Tenaha Texas or on nearby state Highway 59.  They allege they were subjected to unconstitutional traffic stops and cash seizures based on their race or ethnicity. 

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The October 22, 2008 "Asset Search News Roundup" mentioned the problem of money launderers concealing assets through money mules.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued its own alert last week about this same use of money mules:

A money mule making a wire transfer can however, be especially vulnerable to detection.  This is true because at the time of a wire transfer, financial institutions and governmental authorities can search for "red flags".  Thirteen of these red flags are identified by "Money Laundering Red Flags, Wire Transfers", which is from the BSA / AML Examination Manual published by the U.S. government's Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams

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"Bankruptcy Fraud, Money Laundering & Hidden Assets" outlines how a Chapter 7 debtor hid his Porsche and Rolls Royce and other assets.  That debtor eventually pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. §152 (Concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; bribery) and one count of 18 U.S.C §157 (Bankruptcy fraud).  "An Asset Search For Automobiles" similarly highlights how a Chapter 7 debtor concealed his $113,000 Porsche 911, by fraudulently transferring it out of state and registering it in the name of his brother.

A September 29, 2009 adversary complaint filed against 84-year-old Chapter 7 bankruptcy debtor Michael R. Mastro too claims that a valuable automobile was fraudulently transferred.  As part of this suspected fraudulent transfer, Mr. Mastro's wife Linda, could have assigned Mr. Mastro's $400,000 Rolls Royce to "LCY LLC Series Automobiles".  The "Gift Statement" she reportedly executed, states that the Rolls was transferred without any exchange of consideration: 

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