The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations August 1, 2006 report on offshore tax haven abuses explains that assets can be hidden with the assistance of  “lawyers, brokers, bankers, offshore service providers, and others” offering offshore asset protection.  Seattle lawyer Mary Simon appears to have especially provided offshore asset protection services that featured Belizean trusts.

As revealed by “Red Flags In One of Washington State’s Largest Bankruptcies”, Ms. Simon may have aided bankruptcy debtor Michael Mastro’s effort to protect assets by way of a Belizean trust.  Mr. Mastro had seemingly hidden assets in said Belizean trust and the Court ultimately deemed the Belizean trust assets, (and his assets at two other trusts), to be bankruptcy estate property.

This meant Mr. Mastro’s trust assets were subject to liquidation for the benefit of his unsecured creditors, as discussed by Mr. Mastro’s Bankruptcy Estate & His Self-Settled Trusts.  Besides surfacing at Mr. Mastro’s bankruptcy, Ms. Simon’s name popped up during U.S.A. v. Berg, the largest Ponzi scheme / fraud prosecution in Washington state history.  A November 30, 2010 sworn declaration filed in Berg, averred that Mr. Berg had conferred with Ms. Simon on the subject of an asset protection plan.

Although an August 3, 2010 letter purportedly signed by Ms. Simon, suggests the plan was never fully realized, Ms. Simon might have participated in the plans initial phase by allegedly starting the process for forming the “DB517” Belizean trust and the “DB517” Delaware company.  Documents reportedly linked to this Belizean trust and the Delaware company, were seized by FBI agents executing a search warrant on August 30, 2010 at Mr. Berg’s Seattle business office.  These documents can be viewed by clicking on the following image:

 

Copyright 2012 Fred L. Abrams