Financial Institutions

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Letters rogatory can be an invaluable tool for detecting assets concealed in multiple jurisdictions.  They may be utilized to gather competent evidence from foreign financial institutions and a variety of  witnesses residing offshore.  “Asset Search Tips For Divorce & Child Support Cases” talked about detecting assets by employing letters rogatory.  That post…

Prosecutors handling financial fraud cases have long known that a foreign bank supplied with a compelled authorization or consent form, will sometimes release confidential bank records.  The prosecutors first seek a judicial direction requiring the bank signatory of the foreign bank account to execute the authorization form.

After the bank signatory executes this form, the…

The criminal complaint filed in U.S.A. v. Brandon Lee Price, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, Case No. 12-152 M, essentially claims that Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen was the target of an identity theft.  As reported at “Identity Thief Targets Billionaire Allen”, suspected identity thief Brandon Lee Price of Pittsburgh supposedly…

“Terrorist Financing, Money Laundering & Financial Intelligence Units” and “Transnationally Tracking The Assets Of Terrorists” discusses the Egmont Group.  The Financial Intelligence Units of the Egmont Group search for assets secreted by terrorist financiers and money launderers.

Financial Intelligence Units search for these illicit assets by looking for special indicators.  …

At “Hockey bid a factor in Beckman’s Ponzi trial”, the StarTribune analyzes the Second Superseding Indictment filed in the criminal prosecution against Jason Bo Beckman, Gerald Durand and Patrick Kiley.  This StarTribune article explains the three are accused of money laundering and other alleged crimes arising out of Trevor Cook’s securities fraud which was one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in Minnesota history.  The article too reveals that the Second Superseding Indictment differs from two earlier ones.

This was true because the Second Superseding Indictment appears to accuse Mr. Beckman of using Ponzi scheme proceeds as part of an alleged attempt to buy an ownership interest in the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild team.  There is however, another difference between the Second Superseding Indictment and the previous indictments in this matter.  Unlike the earlier indictments, Counts 24-25 at pp. 34-36 of the Second Superseding Indictment, basically accuse Mr. Durand of using a nominee’s bank account at Wells Fargo to secretly convert nearly $22,000 in Swiss francs to U.S. dollars.

This supposed currency conversion had conceivably caused Wells Fargo to unknowingly file Currency Transaction Reports with material omissions in them, about who participated in said conversion.  Although suspected crimes related to Currency Transaction Reports are typically charged under 31 U.S.C. §§ 5322 &/or 5324, Counts 24-25 of the Second Superseding Indictment allege that Mr. Durand concealed material facts and / or made false statements to the Federal Government in violation of 28 U.S.C. §1001.Continue Reading Prosecutors Add To Indictment Connected To Ponzi Scheme Case

The February 6th “Asset Search News Roundup” concentrates on the possible abuse of attorney trust accounts:

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The Financial Action Task Force’s frequently asked questions webpage, states “Large-scale money laundering schemes invariably contain cross-border elements.”  Large-scale money launderers are not the only ones who hide assets by utilizing cross-border or offshore elements.  Divorcing spouses, judgment debtors and anyone else, may conceal valuable assets by combining offshore elements with additional ones.

These…

A class action complaint filed in Illinois alleges that five foreign banks are liable for the Holocaust-era looting of financial accounts belonging to Hungarian Jews.  The heirs of some of the Hungarian Jews filed this complaint in the case known as Holocaust Victims of Bank Theft v. Magyar Nemzeti Bank, et. al., Index No.…