Way Down in the Hole

Abstract

This article reports that the U.S. court system has no effective means to force individuals charged with hiding assets from creditors to disclose their whereabouts. It is stated that many off-shore territories, including Antigua, Belize, and Cyprus, have developed asset protection trusts that attract wealthy investors. U.S. courts are able to hold defendants in contempt of court, but many accused of fraud choose to accept jail time rather than surrender their funds. Stephen Lawrence, Beatty Chadwick, and Martin Armstrong are all listed as among these men.