This 26th post in the “Divorce & Hidden Money” series describes one way assets may be laundered through the purchase of real estate. It supplies the hypothetical situation of “Mark,” a high
The following is a list of Asset Search Blog posts which discuss data brokers; private investigators; bankers; suspected tax fraudsters; etc. As these posts show, asset searches & asset recoveries sometimes raise privacy &/or criminal law issues.
Spotting the red flags/the money laundering indicators is one way to search for hidden assets. The red flags may help you sniff out money or other assets concealed in matters ranging from a high net worth divorce to a securities fraud. Financial Intelligence Units part of the Egmont Group employ red flags to search for money hidden across the globe by terrorist financiers; narco-traffickers; kleptocrats & others. As more fully set forth here, red flags include:¹
The case study below, (sanitized for privacy reasons), is also from the Egmont Group.² It is about a homicide; public corruption; fraud; & the laundering of $9.5 million dollars in “Economy F.” The money was washed through a corporate bank account; lawyers’ trust accounts; & bank accounts belonging to money mules. The Financial Intelligence Unit (“FIU”) involved in the case analyzed Suspicious Transaction Reports (“STRs”); issued orders freezing monies; etc.
“UPDATE 1-Two more Swiss banks strike deals with U.S. over tax evasion” reported that the U.S. Department of Justice, (“the DOJ”), reached its 22nd agreement with Swiss banks. A DOJ press release mentions the agreements were pursuant to the Swiss Bank Program. The Swiss Bank Program “provides a path for Swiss
As
“A Surreptitious Search For Money Hidden In Divorce & Other Cases” explains, law enforcement databases may house confidential information about a person’s assets. Private investigators & the general public cannot lawfully access these law enforcement databases/computers. This is the 5th post in my series about what private investigators can and cannot do
This post describes a case in which illicit drug monies were concealed offshore and laundered via a Cayman Island bank account. The case is also about tax fraud; identity theft and a murder. I published the post earlier at the Asset Search Blog and have used the post as a handout at many of my speaking engagements. It is an example of how financial fraudsters can operate. Some of the facts below have been changed/sanitized for privacy reasons. The following occurred over a four month period during 2002:
As part of his tax fraud, “Mr. Wallace” contacted a Cayman Island bank by mail in order to open a personal account with it. He mailed account opening documents to it which included a copy of his U.S. passport and also supplied the names of references. According to these documents, Mr. Wallace lived in Miami and was a real estate developer. Based upon all of the foregoing, the Cayman Island bank opened Mr. Wallace’s personal account with a “O” balance. Just six days later however, bank “X” in Panama wired $6.3 million to Mr. Wallace’s Cayman account without any mention of the remitter.
Mr. Wallace then went on a business trip to Central America for several months; so he rented his Miami home to “Chuck”. Although Mr. Wallace hadn’t known at the time, Chuck was a small-time crook. In fact, soon after Chuck took possession of Mr. Wallace’s home, Chuck started stealing Mr. Wallace’s mail. One of the letters Chuck had stolen was written by “Bob”, a personal banker from the Cayman Island bank where Mr. Wallace maintained his account. Bob had written to Mr. Wallace about a lucrative investment opportunity.
Surmising from Bob’s letter that Mr. Wallace had a sizable bank account, Chuck wrote to Bob pretending to be Mr. Wallace. As the sanitized copy of Chuck’s First Letter partly demonstrates, Chuck had assumed Mr. Wallace’s identity in that particular letter by forging Mr. Wallace’s signature. To comfort Bob, Chuck’s First Letter had also asked Bob for the minimum balance required to keep Mr. Wallace’s account open. Chuck’s “softening up” letter further suggested to Bob that Mr. Wallace’s funds might soon be needed “at very short notice” for an alleged real estate deal in Mexico. In the sanitized copy of Chuck’s Second Letter, Chuck again pretended to be Mr. Wallace as he wrote to Bob at the Cayman Island bank. In his Second Letter, Chuck directed the wire transfer of Mr. Wallace’s funds from the Cayman Island bank to Chuck’s own bank account in Mexico.
Continue Reading A Case of Tax Fraud, Identity Theft & Murder
When vast sums of money are hidden in a bank account there is usually an electronic trace or other kind of money trail. A skilled investigator may help detect the money trail, as suggested by my 2010 post Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace. The post quoted “Roger” a former foreign intelligence officer who was working as a private investigator. At the post, Roger discussed some asset concealment methods and investigative techniques for following a money trail. As these concealment methods and investigative techniques are still being used, the relevant part of Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace is featured below. This is also the 4th post in my series about what private investigators can and cannot do legally when searching for assets.¹
As a consequence of his U.S.-based Ponzi scheme, Bill the investment adviser was indicted for alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (money laundering); 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (tax fraud); 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 2 (mail fraud); 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) and 78ff(a) (securities fraud); and 15 U.S.C. §§ 80b-6 and 80b-17 (investment adviser fraud). The critical question now was: what had happened to the $35 million dollars lost by the damaged investors in Bill’s Ponzi scheme? After Bill insisted he dissipated this $35 million by gambling and on cocaine, prostitutes, etc., federal agents interdicted $1 million U.S. dollars hidden in a bedroom wall at Bill’s California home.
Among the other items the agents seized during their search of Bill’s home, were Bill’s passport, desktop computer, cell phone, bank statements and jewelry store receipts. Some of these items revealed that Bill laundered $7.5 million of the damaged investors’ money through a nominee bank account opened in the name of a Nevada shell company.
Bill had eventually withdrawn this $7.5 million to purchase diamonds and other portable valuable commodities at Nevada jewelry stores He next traveled as an airline passenger to Zurich, Switzerland, according to his passport. To date, the only recovery from Bill’s Ponzi scheme has been the $1 million once hidden in his bedroom wall. Given all of the above, “Roger” explained how investigators could try to determine whether Bill had secreted any of the $35 million in a foreign bank account:
Continue Reading Private Investigators: Detecting Hidden Assets By Following A Money Trail
Divorcing spouses, debtors, determined criminals or others may hide and secretly transfer art assets and cultural heritage property. The article below was written by Leila Amineddoleh Partner at Tarter, Krinsky & Drogin LLC where she specializes in art law. Ms. Amineddoleh teaches International Art & Cultural Heritage Law at Fordham University School of Law and St. John’s University School of Law. Her article explains that art and cultural heritage property can be used to conceal assets in a variety of ways. The article covers these topics:
I. Forgeries, Illicit Imports & Smuggling
II. Valuating Art In A Divorce
III. Art Transfers By Terrorists & Other Criminals
IV. Suing Over Art
By Leila Amineddoleh, Esq.
Not only are art and antiquities beautiful, fascinating, and rich in cultural significance, but they can be great investments. The growing interest in the art world has introduced a new wave of investment products; entire companies have developed in the field of art investment consultation, using art as an alternative investment type. Some economists even claim that art is more secure than stocks, citing the fact that art outperforms the stock market.[1] Since the Second World War, groups of wealthy investors purchased artwork during unstable economic periods. And as with other asset classes, art and antiquities can be used as vehicles for hiding assets.
One of the most frustrating aspects of art and antiquities collecting relates to valuation. There is a vast disparity between values for authentic versus forged objects. For example, where a convincing copy of a Jackson Pollock may sell for a few thousand dollars, an authentic work by the Abstract expressionist painter may sell for up to $50 million. And as the past couple decades have demonstrated, it can be difficult to ascertain which works are by the hand of a purported artist versus a talented art forger. (This difficulty recently became headline news as art investors sued the well-known Knoedler Gallery for selling multi-million dollar forgeries.[2])
These same complications arise with antiquities. It is not only difficult to determine whether an artifact is authentic, but it can be challenging to determine its origin. Smugglers bring antiquities into the US, but lie about the origin of the objects. Illicit importing has been committed in ingenious ways: some smugglers will cover an authentic antiquity in a plastic coating to make the object appear to be a cheap tourist toy; once the object has passed through customs, the plastic coating is removed and the valuable cultural object is revealed.[3] Other smugglers don’t even disguise the works, they simply claim that ancient artifacts are modern-day trinkets bought while abroad. Another way that people misrepresent objects relates to the find spot (the location where an artifact was excavated). By lying about the object’s origin, smugglers conceal valuable information regarding the work’s creation, greatly affecting the value and legality of a work. (For example, objects from Syria have been recently scrutinized for fear that looted artifacts enter the US and fuel the market for illicit objects. So smugglers now claim that these looted works are from other areas of the Middle East, thereby avoiding detection by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.)
Continue Reading Recovering Art Assets & Cultural Heritage Property
This is the 3rd post in my private investigator series discussing what private investigators can and cannot do legally when searching for assets. My January 6th post mentions that on behalf of clients, former attorney Mary Nolan and her private investigator conspired to place illegal wiretaps in cars. Their clients were reportedly never accused of
My January 13th post notes that divorcing spouses can employ nominees, (i.e. intermediaries), to secretly purchase property, conceal bank accounts, etc. Prosecutors claimed Attorney Orion Douglas Memmott similarly used nominees to hide assets from the IRS. Mr. Memmott’s 2010 superseding indictment asserted Mr. Memmott hid assets from the IRS by “placing real property in the names of nominees…” It charged him with attempted tax evasion (26 U.S.C. § 7201) and perjury/false statements (26 U.S.C. § 7206 (1). Prosecutors alleged Mr. Memmott hid real estate titled in the name of Mr. Memmott’s nominee, his ex-wife Sheila Enos-Boyd. Mr. Memmott was found guilty of these charges and on December 15, 2014, the Court sentenced him to 18 months of prison.
In addition to hiding real estate through his nominee, prosecutors accused Mr. Memmott of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from law firm clients and friends. One of Mr. Memmott’s victims was Merrill Osmond, lead singer of the world famous Osmond family. Mr. Memmott is believed to have embezzled $60,000 from Mr. Osmond. Another victim was Ms. Ranelle Wallace, who was left homeless by Mr. Memmott because he reportedly embezzled $37,000 from her. Prosecutors claimed Mr. Memmott hid these and other funds he embezzled, in business bank accounts belonging to his nominees. Mr. Memmott’s suspected use of nominees to conceal assets, was just one red flag of fraud in his case. Other red flags were: Mr. Memmott’s claim at his June 9, 2005 IRS Form 433-A, that he had no bank accounts; Mr. Memmott’s alleged use of back-dated promissory notes; and Mr. Memmott’s suspected use of a business bank account instead of a trust account.
When the IRS determined that Mr. Memmott owed about $655,555 in unpaid personal federal income taxes for years 1993-1999, it assigned IRS Revenue Officer Miller to search for Mr. Memmott’s assets. On June 9, 2005 Officer Miller had Mr. Memmott execute an IRS Form 433-A, Collection Information Statement. At this June 9th Form, Mr. Memmott indicated he had no personal bank accounts. This was a red flag for Officer Miller who testified at Mr. Memmott’s trial that: “I just found it very odd that the defendant was an attorney, a businessman, he was receiving Social Security, but he had no personal bank accounts. So that was kind of an indicator of fraud for me because it just was so out of the ordinary to have someone of that stature not have a personal bank account.”
Continue Reading Red Flags & The IRS Search For Attorney Memmott’s Assets
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