Finding Hidden Foreign Property
PROBLEM:
The debtor, whose family lives in Brazil, claims to have no foreign investments. He mentioned years ago that his family had some rental properties in Sao Palo, but you have never seen them, and you don’t know exactly where they…
Oprah Helps Father Hide Assets in Messy Divorce
Last week, a Tennessee judge fined Oprah Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, $70,000 in legal fees as punishment for bad behavior during his divorce. According to the judge’s decision, Mr. Winfrey used some fairly complicated maneuvers to…
Lupe’s Fiasco: Drug Kingpin’s Wife Accuses Rapper of Hiding Money
Gossip sites were all abuzz last week with news of rapper Lupe Fiasco’s legal battle with Inita Patton, the estranged wife of convicted drug kingpin and Fiasco’s mentor, Charles Patton. The court filings have yet to be released to the…
Finding Secretly Owned Historic Property
PROBLEM:
The debtor has a passion for historic architecture, and you remember him once mentioning a beautiful old house that he was thinking about buying years ago. You suspect that he may have secretly purchased the house and has failed…
Finding Real Estate Bought Through a Secret Company
PROBLEM:
You think that your debtor owns property, but you cannot find any evidence that he owns any real estate in his own name. You suspect that he purchased property through a corporation so that you would not be able to find it.
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SOLUTIONS:
If…
House Hunting: Tracking Down Real Estate in the U.S.
PROBLEM:
Debtors know that a few clever tricks can make it difficult to trace a real estate purchase back to them.
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SOLUTION:
The biggest challenge in tracking down real estate is knowing where to look. In the United States, property…
