The Court announced yesterday that there had been a settlement in the New Jersey case involving Former Premier Michael Misick of the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The settlement is mentioned at the Court’s Order of Dismissal and by the current docket report.

According to various court filings, the Former Premier could have been a beneficial owner of Hip Hop Weekly Magazine through his alleged interests in: My Way Productions 2 LTD. (“My Way”), Z & M Media LLC (“Z & M”), and the holding company for Hip Hop Weekly Magazine, Hip Hop Global  Media, LLC (“HHG”). (Cf. Defendants’ Answer, Counterclaim and Third-Party Complaint at p. 26 ¶ 7) (claim that the Former Premier and his ex-wife LisaRaye McCoy were “real parties in interest”).

The Verified Amended Complaint in the New Jersey case meanwhile, indicated at ¶¶7, 57, 75, 78, 80 and Exhibit “H”,  that My Way or Z & M or HHG, might have been involved in making substantial capital contributions:

  1. $798, 647. 57 capital contribution from My Way into Z & M;
  2. $10,000.00 capital contribution from My Way into HHG;
  3. $833,334.00 capital contribution from My Way into HHG and Z & M;
  4. $260,000.00 capital contribution from Z & M to fund Hip Hop Weekly Magazine.

Given the facts that Mr. Misick was the the focus of a public corruption probe, (and also has an apparent nexus to Hip Hop Weekly Magazine, My Way, Z & M, and HHG), governmental authorities would presumably ask: Were the supposed capital contributions listed above, possibly derived from the alleged proceeds of Mr. Misick’s suspected public corruption scheme?

If monies, stock shares or other assets are constituted or derived from a public corruption scheme, then the same could of course be subject to asset forfeiture pursuant to the laws cited at “Could Former Premier Misick Face U.S. Forced Collection Proceedings?“.

Asset forfeiture was a component of U.S.A. v. Jefferson, Criminal No. 1:07-cr-00209.  In Jefferson, a former U.S. congressman’s assets were subject to forfeiture because they were derived from a public corruption / bribery scheme.  As explained at the August 11, 2009 “Asset Search News Roundup“, the Jefferson jury found that the former congressman’s monies in two bank accounts, were subject to forfeiture.

The former congressman’s stock shares in a Nigerian company, a Ghanaian company, a Delaware company, and an Indiana company, could too be forfeited, as demonstrated by the jury’s Special Verdict Form:

 

(Click On The Special Verdict Form To Read Its Entire Contents)

 (Last edited 2:25 PM)

Copyright 2010 Fred L. Abrams