Last week, Curtis Harold DeBerry, owner of the Texas-based Progreso Produce Company, was arrested and accused of cheating investors, business partners and banks out of millions of dollars o
ver the past few years. He now faces up to 30 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, DeBerry hid assets by transferring money
Whitney St. John and James B. Fairchild’s acrimonious divorce began in 2011, and the couple has been fighting over how to divide their fabulous collection of art and antiques ever since. With no amicable resolution in sight, last week, a Suffolk County judge ordered the couple to liquidate their possessions and equally divide the proceeds.
PROBLEM:
Your debtor has a taste for fine jewelry and you suspect that she’s recently purchased and hidden some expensive pieces.
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SOLUTIONS:
If you have access to your debtor’s bank records, they are a great place to begin looking for evidence that your debtor
has some jewelry stashed away. You may not find something
PROBLEM:
You know that your debtor has a taste for the finer things in life, but, above all she adores furs. Occasionally, a new mink would suddenly appear on the first wintry day of the year. If you asked about it, she would shrug it off, explaining that she bought it years ago. You
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 to disclose it.
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SOLUTIONS:
Real estate protected by historic designations can be
PROBLEM:
The debtor is a big collector, whether of coins, stamps, toys, or comic books. You ask about the collection but get no response, or else you are told it was “lost” or sold for much less than you were always told it was worth. You need answers about what happened to it.
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PROBLEM:
A debtor may say he has no assets when he actually owns an art collection worth millions. Or, in anticipation of a divorce, a debtor may convert ready cash or easily-discoverable assets into art, which can be safely stashed away until after a settlement is reached.
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SOLUTION:
Art, like some of the other
PROBLEM:
The debtor has chosen to hide his beloved boat to avoid having to relinquish it or sell it to pay off debts. Or he decides to liquidate some cash by purchasing a boat and storing it out of sight from his creditors.
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SOLUTION:
There is no nationwide vessel identification system for
PROBLEM:
The debtor has a taste for the finer things in life, and we suspect that among his most valuable assets is an extensive (and expensive) collection of fine wine. But how much the collection is worth and where it’s located remain unknown.
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SOLUTION:
Every oenophile knows that proper storage is vital to preserve
The Judge Judy lawsuit over some very expensive china and flatware has apparently settled. Former model Patric Jones had alleged that her ex-husband sold the expensive goods to Judge Judy Sheindlin of television fame for far less than the goods were worth.
This, despite the fact that the china was community property in California –