Mr. Lattuga’s lawsuit against his wife is next scheduled for trial on Wednesday, November 19, 2008. Mr. Lattuga claimed in it, that he had given his wife $784,822 because she had agreed to buy her father’s car dealerships for the two of them. Mr. Lattuga specifically alleged that his wife had given the $784,822 to
Asset Search/Fraud Investigation
Mr. Curt Valentin’s Nazi-Looted Art
By Fred Abrams on
As I mention at “Searching For Nazi-Looted Art“, the most challenging asset searches / investigations can be those in a Holocaust-related art restitution case. The October 30, 2008, Minneapolis Star Tribune article “MIA sends Nazi ‘loot’ home to Paris“, suggests the very same thing. It explains that the Minneapolis Institute of…
Recognizing Hidden Assets, The Red Flags
A beneficial owner’s transfer of funds through banks in multiple jurisdictions, can be a red flag that assets have been secreted. Purchasing large amounts of portable valuable commodities, hoarding cash, forming a shell company, etc, can also be red flags as mentioned by “Asset Search Indicia for Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy”. The…
Concealing Cash By Laundering In Lithuania
The Bank of Lithuania, (i.e. the central bank of Lithuania), announced its recent anti-money laundering measures at a May 15, 2008 board meeting. The Bank’s focus on money laundering might already be paying off. The Financial Intelligence Unit for Lithuania for example, recently detained two international gang members for suspected money laundering.
According to…
Hiding Assets In Informal Banking Systems
By Fred Abrams on
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering
Based on a March 2003 FinCEN Advisory, informal banking systems, (a.k.a. informal value transfer or alternative remittance systems), have been around since 5800 BC. Such systems are abused by terrorists to transfer their funds, as more fully described by a presentation from the Organization for Security and Co-operation In Europe. According to said…
Using Divorce To Dissipate Assets & Delay Creditors
By Fred Abrams on
One way a debtor may frustrate an asset search or delay forced collection proceedings is to dissipate assets through an excessive divorce settlement. According to "Tyco gets OK to freeze Kozlowski’s assets" for example, ex-Tyco chief executive Dennis Kozlowski may be using his divorce settlement to delay his creditors. At In Re: Tyco…
Searching For Nazi-Looted Art
By Fred Abrams on
Perhaps most challenging, are asset searches and / or investigations seeking to uncover Nazi-looted art. Such searches can ultimately end up in the filing of a Holocaust-related art restitution case. As suggested at the article "Thousands of Nazi-Looted Works Are Held by Museums, Survey Says", lawyers, auction houses, genealogists and art detectives…
An Asset Search In A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case
By Fred Abrams on
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Bankruptcy
An asset search for any bankruptcy estate property hidden during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, usually begins with an investigation of the debtor’s court filings. For example, the following court filings may contain red flags that a debtor has concealed assets / property:
- the petition;
- schedules;
- statement of financial affairs;
- tax returns.
Critical to an asset…
Government Data Mining & An Asset Search
By Fred Abrams on
Data mining predicts patterns through electronic data base technologies like statistical analysis and modeling. Some U.S. law enforcement agencies data mine to predict the criminal patterns of money launderers, terrorist financiers or other criminals. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security for example, mentioned the following four data mining programs in its February 11, 2008 Letter…
Attorney Christensen’s Wiretap Conviction
Attorney Terry Christensen was convicted along with private investigator Anthony Pellicano on August 29, 2008, as reported by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Law Blog. According to the criminal minutes from his trial, Mr. Christensen had been found guilty of his two-count indictment for violating 18 U.S.C. 371 (Conspiracy) and…