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Lana irooks bipnon Billions of DollarsDALLAS, lex. (Ah')-Arizona and Florida land crooks have siphoned bill tons of untaxed dollars from their swin die operations into secret foreign bank accounts, a Florida official revealed here.The money is deposited in Costa Rica. Panama. Guatamala. Bahama Islands. Switzerland and Liechtenstein, said Edward Kuhnel. a securities fraud attorney in the Florida comptroller's of fice,Kuhnel was among 30 officials of four states and federal agencies to meet here Friday to exchange information about interstate land fraud schemes If we ever get the money back .saud Kuhnel. it's going to take an international effort to do it.The cooperation of the countries in which the money is banked will be sought through the U.S. State Department, he said.Kuhnel said later during an interview that the land fraud racket involves an international ring of swindlers whose overseas activites are known to Interpoland Scotland Yard“There's a Hong Kong group, for instance, and a London group. he saidWayne Tangye. a special state investigator for Arizona, noted that Arizona land has been sold through a Hong Kong firm which has connections in Phoenix.Arizona Atty Gen Bruce Babbittand attorney generals from Florida andNew Mexico agreed that criminal prosecution of the swindlers is the only effective method of dealing with the landfraud scandals Civil suits which seek damages and restitution were called “impractical by Florida Atty Gen Robert Shevin “In the major cases, by the time the facts come to light. the companies have little or no assets left, Shevin said So prolific are land and mortgage swindles, said Joseph D AUesandro of Florida, that Every time 1 poke my head in a hold. 1 five five more He said it cost Florida lt;250,000 to bring one group of land promoters to trial on criminal chargesLouis St Laurent, a Florida state prosecutor. attributed the failures of 15 banks, including some on Ohio. Michigan and Texas, to the operations of landswindlers.New Mexico Atty Gen Anthony Anaya said a number of the swindlers operating in his state came there from Arizona.“We three states (Arizona. New Mexico and Florida) have more land fraud than all the rest of the states in the union. Anaya said.The three attorneys general said the conference served as the intitial step in developing an early warning system” through which the state may alert each other concerning the activities of suspected fraudulent land companies.
Newspaper Details
Gallup Independent
Gallup, New Mexico, US
Sat, Nov 08, 1975
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 22 May 2019
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