This is the first post in the “Divorce & Hidden Money” series:
During ultra-high net worth divorces, one party can conceal vast sums of money from the other by going offshore. Stated differently, divorcing spouses may hide their wealth by utilizing cross-border elements, as money launderers do. The Financial Action Task Force
Google finance says that since 1993, Mr. Ty Warner’s company Ty Inc. “produced more than 370 different Beanie Babies with colorful names such as Feder Bear (current) and Cheeks the baboon (retired).” Google finance reveals that Mr. Warner creator of the Beanie Babies, parlayed his profits into his purchase of a half-dozen luxury hotels. Mr. Warner is a billionaire, with a net worth of 2.6 billion as of September 13th.
As outlined by a press release and his criminal information, Mr. Warner was accused of utilizing Swiss bank accounts to hide undeclared revenue from the IRS. At his arraignment hearing last Wednesday, Mr. Warner pleaded guilty to tax fraud. The Chicago Tribune reported that Mr. Warner told the judge at the hearing ‘I apologize for my conduct. It’s a terrible way to meet you’.
An October 2, 2013 plea agreement reveals that Mr. Warner participated in an abusive offshore tax avoidance scheme. To read Mr. Warner’s plea agreement, click on the image below:
Continue Reading Beanie Babies Tycoon Hid Cash In Secret Swiss Bank Accounts
Throughout its five seasons, Breaking Bad highlighted the ways narco-trafficker Walter White and his co-conspirators hid the illicit proceeds of their made-for-TV crimes. Breaking Bad could even be considered a case study of how determined criminals and others hide assets. For example, at Problem Dog, Season 4, Episode 7, Walter and his wife Skyler faced the dilemma of trying to conceal $7 million in drug profits, by laundering it through their A1A Car Wash.
During Mandala, Season 2, Episode 11, Skyler’s boss Ted Beneke admitted to hiding nearly $1 million in undeclared revenue from the IRS. In furtherance of this tax fraud, Ted had cooked the books of his company, Beneke Fabricators. At Caballo Sin Nombre, Season 3, Episode 2, Walter’s partner Jesse Pinkman seemingly washed $400,000 through the cash purchase of his parent’s home. In Gliding Over All, Season 5, Episode 8, Skyler disclosed she rented a storage unit to conceal a hoard of cash. At the end of Crawl Space, Season 4, Episode 11, Walter was also shown next to some illicit cash he had earlier secreted beneath his house:
Continue Reading How Walter White Could Take His Money To A Swiss Bank
As a DEA Special Agent, Donnie worked in Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Peru. He had also been a liaison with the Mexican Federal Judicial Police. After retiring from the DEA, Donnie taught Iraqi border policeman a variety of things, including how to detect cash and drugs hidden through smuggling. Through his work, Donnie became highly
Domestic tax authorities, financial Intelligence units, bankruptcy trustees and banks rely on red flags to detect illicit assets, as mentioned by “Recognizing Hidden Assets, The Red Flags.” Recognizing Hidden Assets, The Red Flags notes that a broad range of litigants may uncover hidden assets by spotting the red flags. These red flags are
The article “Wirapol Sukphol, Jet-Set Buddhist Monk Shocks Thailand With Religious Scandal” discusses a Buddhist monk in Thailand suspected of misappropriating charitable donations to support his life of luxury. This article indicates that the now former monk Wirapol Sukphol, may have collected charitable donations by swindling donors, to whom he reportedly once said:
If you are a divorcing spouse, judgment creditor or anyone else who believes they may need to do a bank search to locate hidden assets parked offshore, below is a discussion of how individuals sometimes hide their assets and what legal remedies may be available.
Beneficial owners around the world are able to secretly transfer assets across international borders. As explained herein, they do this by conducting offshore banking through multiple jurisdictions; nominee incorporation services; and/or gatekeepers like lawyers. Various legal remedies are however, usually available for finding hidden assets transferred offshore. These remedies may even include seeking a court order directing a Swiss or other offshore bank to perform a bank search and disclose bank customer information.
Continue Reading Assets Hidden Offshore & A Bank Search To Find Them
U.S. prosecutors issued a press release yesterday announcing the extradition of former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo. Mr. Portillo’s extradition to the United States was based on his alleged money laundering.
Yesterday, Mr. Portillo was also arraigned in federal court in Manhattan. Although Mr. Portillo was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal, the
“Swiss Banks, Smuggling & Other Asset Recovery Issues” will be presented from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on April 18, 2013 in New York City, at the New York County Lawyers’ Association. Jack Blum, Esq., Advocate Robert Fiecther of the Des Gouttes & Partners law firm located in Geneva, Switzerland and Fred L. Abrams, Esq. are speaking at this program. To attend, please contact the New York County Lawyers’ Association at telephone no. (212) 267-6646. The program’s description and agenda are as follows:
In its 2007 National Money Laundering Strategy report, the U.S. government estimated that as much as $36 billion annually from just the former Soviet Union, was being secretly transferred through U.S. bank accounts and U.S. shell companies. Besides using U.S. bank accounts and shell companies, kleptocrats, Ponzi schemers, divorcing spouses, etc., can of course conceal assets by parking them in Swiss or other foreign bank accounts.
This program analyzes how bank secrecy laws, multiple jurisdictions and smuggling are utilized in schemes to conceal vast sums of money. The program discusses mutual legal assistance treaty relief and using letters rogatory as asset recovery tools. It mentions ways whistleblowers or other tipsters may help sniff out these monies and the difficulty lawyers face in dealing with whistleblowers either as clients or as tipsters.
One of the program’s speakers Jack Blum, Esq., will examine the IRS Whistleblower Program and the ethical concerns gatekeepers such as lawyers and accountants have in reporting illegal behavior in both the civil and criminal contexts. Mr. Blum served as associate counsel, or assistant counsel, or special counsel to three U.S. Senate committees or subcommittees; and has been quoted by or mentioned in thousands of newspaper and magazine articles around the world. He was also an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Blum’s select clients include Heinrich Kieber, who blew the whistle on customers with offshore accounts at Liechtenstein’s private bank, the LGT Group. Mr. Kieber sold his whistleblowing tips to the German government, which used them to track suspected tax cheats. Mr. Blum too represented former Julius Baer Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, who supplied tips about suspected tax evaders to both WikiLeaks and the IRS.
Another one of the program’s speakers is Robert Fiechter, who is a partner at the Des Gouttes & Partners law firm of Geneva Switzerland, founded in 1834. Advocate Fiechter also serves as a Deputy Judge at the Court of Justice of Geneva, an appellate court. He too served as a substitute criminal judge and is the Deputy Secretary of the Supervisory Board of the Swiss Bank’s Code of Conduct. During the program, Advocate Fiechter will describe the ins and outs of Swiss bank secrecy laws. He will additionally review the legal remedies available for recovering assets hidden in Switzerland and elsewhere across the globe.
Continue Reading Swiss Banks, Smuggling & Other Asset Recovery Issues
The September 2009 Asset Search Blog article “Money Laundering By Minneapolis Money Managers?”, raised the issue of whether Associated Bank had violated federal anti-money laundering regulations. This article discussed whether an account opened at Associated Bank in the name of Crown Forex, LLC, had been used to launder Ponzi scheme proceeds. It pointed
