Below is a list of red flags. Recognizing the red flags can help you detect assets your adversary has hidden from you. I first published the list in 2007 at my article “Asset Search Indicia For Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy.” The list consists of common asset concealment methods:
Identifying and immobilizing assets in a timely fashion can be paramount to asset recovery cases ranging from an ultra- high net worth divorce to a forced collection proceeding against a debtor.
The abstract about “Suspending Suspicious Transactions” ¹ similarly mentions the “timely identification and immobilization” of assets. The abstract discusses this with regard
Freezing bank accounts maintained by nominees and Scottish prosecutors investigate a suspected tax fraud.
“Using Divorce To Dissipate Assets & Delay Creditors” described allegations from 2008, that ex-Tyco chief executive Dennis Kozlowski might have fraudulently conveyed assets via an excessive divorce settlement. Stated differently, the ex-Tyco chief was thought to have possibly used his divorce settlement as an asset protection tool.
An August 10th civil complaint filed
This “Asset Search News Roundup” is about a few companies currently offering asset protection over the Internet. The first of these companies is Panama Legal, S.A. Its Web site says that “Bullet Proof Asset Protection” is attainable by forming a “Panama Bearer Share Corporation“. “Bearer Shares & An Asset Search
"Forced Collections Against A Fraudster Like Madoff" & "Competing Over Mr. Allen Stanford’s Assets" described the problem of competing claimants trying to recover from a limited pool of funds. This same problem has been encountered by the plaintiffs in The Lautenberg Foundation v. Madoff, 09-Civ-00816, whose lawsuit I mentioned at "Suing Peter Madoff For Bernard Madoff’s Securities Fraud".
The Lautenberg plaintiffs are damaged investors of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and their lawsuit alleges they were injured by Bernard’s younger brother Peter. As mentioned by their lawsuit, Peter Madoff is allegedly liable for his supposed tortious conduct while working as a "control person" at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC ("BLMIS").
While the Lautenberg plaintiffs argue that Peter Madoff is liable to them, a complaint filed in an adversary proceeding claims that the Lautenberg lawsuit tries to wrongly recover BLMIS assets from Peter Madoff. This May 27, 2010 adversary complaint filed by Bernard Madoff Trustee Irving Picard, asserts that the Launtenberg plaintiffs were participants in Trustee Picard’s claims process for damaged investors.Continue Reading Peter Madoff & His Competing Claimants
A successful asset search often requires gathering financial intelligence. One financial investigator sought financial intelligence by doing “trash pulls”. This investigator did trash pulls at an attorney’s home to elicit intelligence about the attorney’s client. During one of these trash pulls, an envelope bearing the name of a climate-controlled art storage facility was discovered. This
"How To Minimize Your Assets" published at a webpage belonging to Assetprotection.com, indicates that a judgment debtor can mitigate the risk of forced collection proceedings "[b]y becoming a smaller target". The Assetprotection.com website is also replete with asset protection diagrams. In cases that illicit proceeds are being hidden, some of these
After I wrote my November 28th, 2009 “Asset Search News Roundup” about Minneapolis money manager Trevor Cook, he was incarcerated on January 25, 2010 for civil contempt of court. As the Court stated in its January 25, 2010 Opinion, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission previously filed for injunctive relief against Mr. Cook.
They sought injunctive relief because Mr. Cook had allegedly participated in a Ponzi-like securities fraud which might have involved at least $190 million taken from 1000 or more victims. Also according to the January 25th Opinion, Mr. Cook violated a November 23, 2009 asset freeze by dissipating assets. The Court therefore remanded Mr. Cook to jail until “he purges himself of the contempt” by turning over:
Continue Reading Mr. Cook Continues His Incarceration For Civil Contempt
The January 29th "Asset Search News Roundup" talks about HealthSouth’s ex-chief Richard Scrushy and includes the most recent remarks of Assistant Secretary For Terrorist Financing David Cohen: