Looking for free legal advice.

johnboy77 says on Sep 21, 2005, 17:00:

I have some free legal advice. Tell him to hire a lawyer... pehaps he can use the money from his Swiss accounts to pay the lawyer, or perhaps money from the Colombian accounts, or perhaps borrow money using his Colombian assets (property) as a guarantee he will pay it back. That way, he will not need free advice from non-laywers on PBH.

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Gator says on Sep 21, 2005, 19:48:

Yes, But... very, very complicated. Refer you friend here:

http://travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_691.html

Then refer you friend to johnboy77's advice.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Monpirri says on Sep 21, 2005, 19:49:

Looking for free legal advise It looks like is going to be a tough case, a citizen Vs. the Government.
You are going to need F. Lee. Bailey, Robert Kardashian, Carl Douglas, Peter Neufeld,Robert Shapiro and someone else whose name I cannot remember.

Let us know if you need further help with general questions concerning how to find a lawyer in here.

Good luck,

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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calipro says on Sep 21, 2005, 20:43:

LOL !!! johnboy77

All advice is free on PBH including legal advice.

It appears that (bbattiste) is a little pissed at the free legal advice he got from UtopiaCowboy. hehehe !!

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/13285

The guy has a lot of nerve!

Anyway Gator Thanks for the link.

It helps to explain why someone can have so many legal problems in the states and live in Colombia like they don't have a care in the world.

I'd refer my friend to UC but he seems to think he doesn't need an attorney. After reading the state department link, it seems he could be right. It seems that enforcing US judgements in a a foreign country is a hit or miss (mostly miss) proposition.

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BAQ says on Sep 21, 2005, 21:17:

yes "Can U.S. courts gain access to Colombian bank records, seize accounts and take property from an American living in Colombia?"

They do it ALL THE TIME, how do you think they track the drug money and the laundering?

"I believe he even filed bankruptcy and didn{t claim his foreign assets.".

Thats a Federal Crime and if he gets caught, they will prosecute him without a doubt !


Seems like your friend isn;t the BRIGHTEST bulb on the tree.

Semper Fidelis !

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calipro says on Sep 21, 2005, 21:46:

BAQ The Colombian government takes assets of drug dealers in colombia all the time. I had know idea the the U.S. Government could do it.



""I believe he even filed bankruptcy and didn{t claim his foreign assets.".

Thats a Federal Crime and if he gets caught, they will prosecute him without a doubt !"

Would the trail be in Colombia or would they have to extradite him to the states?

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johnboy77 says on Sep 21, 2005, 22:22:

I doubt the US can prosecute people in COlombian courts. They would have to file to have him extradited, which will not fall under the special laws which allow for the extradition of narco trafficers, but I am sure it is possible.

He really should HIRE a lawyer.

I have some more legal adive for him (free): Don't break federal law!

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aztec says on Sep 22, 2005, 03:38:

HIRE a lawyer. Or move to a country without extradition agreements with the US.

Ignoring this problem doesn't make it go away. It will only get worse.

I might remind you all that monetary penalties can be triple damages. How do I know . My brother did something stupid like deliberately not filing. He lost every thing he had and until recently was still paying a penalty. It will be much worse here because your friend is in danger of going to jail in addition to the fines.

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calipro says on Sep 22, 2005, 04:49:

aztec I don't think anybody could ever convince the guy that he needs a lawyer. He seems to think he got away scott free. Who knows maybe he did. He has lived in Colombia for over two years with no problems and living pretty high on the hog by colombian standards.

I don't think he was ever worried about the damages. He never showed up at his civil trial. I asked him why he didn't even put up a fight and he said he would have lost anyway the plantiffs were right. I'm not sure he even stuck around long enough to find out exactly how much the judgement was.



I don't think anybody can be extradited back to the U.S. for a civil suit. He seems to think that he is safe from his problems in the states and for the two years he has spent in Colombia he has had no problems. As far as the Colombian government throwing him in jail for something, that seems a little far fetched. Why would they bother? When U.S. government doesn't seem interested in him at all.

Unless he can't sleep at night and wants to make a confession, I don't know why he would need a lawyer either.

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Hunter says on Sep 22, 2005, 07:32:

calipro How would the US even know he was in Colombia?

How would the US courts know he had Colombian Bank Accounts or Swiss Bank accounts?

Mind you if you know, how many other people know?

Hunter

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calipro says on Sep 22, 2005, 08:01:

Hunter Now that you put it that way I guess the guy will never get caught.

I don{t know the guys last name. I don{t know what colombian bank he uses or any of his account information. I don{t know what state he was sued in or even if the government has suspected him of wrong doing. I{m not even positive he has actually done anything wrong.

If everybody knows as little as I know the guy is as safe as can be.

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BAQ says on Sep 22, 2005, 10:47:

Calipro, the U.S. Govt has a task force of DEA, FBI, CUSTOMS and IRS agents in Colombia. They work together with the Colombian law enforcement agencies so they have access to ALL bank records in Colombia, which I think was your origional question about the U.S. Govt having "Access" to Colombian bank records and accounts.

As far as "Seizing assets", it is usually drug money that was laundered in the U.S. from the Sale of drugs on U.S. streets and then transfered to Colombian accounts. If a U.S. Court can show the money ORIGINATED in the U.S. and is now in a Colombian account, the U.S. can and usually does get it.

As far as lying to a Federal Judge/Court about assets, if he gets caught, it would be prosecuted in the United States, in whatever Federal District handled the bankruptcy. Yes, they would extradite him. Actually it is easier than that. All the FBI does is tell the Colombian Govt it has a Federal Warrant for the person and asks the Colombian Govt to deport him, which the Colombian Govt will do. DAS just pulls/revokes the persons visa. So you get put on a plane in Bogota by DAS (along with 2 federal agents, usually FBI) and as soon as the plane touches down in Miami, they arrest you since you are now back on U.S. soil.

Now all this is ASSUMING he gets caught. Unless he gets really stupid and attracts attention to himself or someone snitches him off, there is a good chance he will get away with it.

By being stupid, I mean starts transfering large amounts of money at one time or in a short period of time.

Only my OPINION, but I don;t think the CIVIL stuff is anything to worry about. If I was him, what I would be worrying about was lying to a Federal Judge/Court in the bankruptcy papers/hearing.

TRUST ME when I tell you the U.S Govt monitors ALL transactions of money being sent in and out of Colombia.

Semper Fidelis !

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ronald1168 says on Sep 22, 2005, 14:27:

Very Criminal behavior I think it is very Criminal behavior from your friend. But no problem the US goverment will have no problem with seizing your friends assets in Switserland and Colombia.




R. Donders
London
ronald at donders.co.uk

ronald@donders.co.uk

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calipro says on Sep 22, 2005, 20:17:

ronald (I think it is very Criminal behavior from your friend. But no problem the US goverment will have no problem with seizing your friends assets in Switserland and Colombia.)

Well I{m not so sure the U.S. can just seize the assets of someone in a foreign country. From the State Department link that Gator provided it appears even U.S. judgements are next to imposible to enforce in a foreign country.

I think the biggest stumbling block for the U.S. in prosecuting someone like my friend is that he doesn{t even appear to be as suspect.

I{ll let you guys know if they ever catch on to him.

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stripes says on Sep 22, 2005, 20:28:

hope he never breaks his leg... Is your friend a Colobian national? Because, if not, his passport will expire as will his visa. DAS could find out about that and kick him the hell out. He can't get his US passport renewed with the judgment. Also, if he owes the government money, he can't receive any services from the embassy, such as if he gets arrested or needs to be evacuated. Basically, if anything bad happens to him in colombia, he's completely screwed.

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calipro says on Sep 22, 2005, 21:50:

stripes From what I understand the guy is a U.S. citizen. He collects a pension and also social security. The only reason I think he even bothered to file bankruptcy was so he could collect his pension and social security without having the funds frozen.

My friend has been charged with no crime. In fact I don't believe he is even suspected of wrong doing. If his passport expires he will simply renew it when he is in the states visiting family.

He doesn't owe the government any money. He simply moved his assets out of the U.S. before a judgement was filed against him in the states and walked away. The judgement was a civil suit and has nothing to do with the govenerment.

I do believe that he lied in bankruptcy court about his assets outside the country so that he could collect his pension without having his bank account frozen.

I don't know if simply not paying a judgement is a crime. To my knowledge the guy hasn't even been accused of a crime by anyone including the government.

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BAQ says on Sep 23, 2005, 10:27:

Social Security benefits are by law, not subject to garnishment for civil judgements. They ARE subject to garnishment for back taxes or overpayments by the VA.

As far as a pension, i think that is fair game for civil judgements by creditors if the money is in an american bank.

Stripes, as far as renewing a passport, if the guy has judgements against him in private civil suits like creditors, he can;t renew it or were you talking about another type of judgement?

Semper Fidelis !

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calipro says on Sep 23, 2005, 18:49:

BAQ The guy's pension was also exempt. Actually I think the guy has a couple of years to go before he is old enough to collect his Social Security.

The judgements are civil judgements. I know the guy has gone back to the states at least once in the two or so years he has lived in Colombia and nobody took his passport away.

Peraonally I never knew that people that had judgements against them were prisoners in America. Hehehe! What do you mean that you can{t get a passport or have it renewed if you have civil judgements against you. That is just silly.

It{s been a long time since I filled out a passport aplication. Does it really ask you if you have a lawsuit pending or judgements against you?

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Gator says on Sep 23, 2005, 19:11:

A federal or state law enforcement agency may request the denial of a passport on several regulatory grounds under 22 CFR 51.70 and 51.72. The principal reasons for passport denial are a federal warrant of arrest, a federal or state criminal court order Hiding assets in a bankruptcy is a crime-not civil), a condition of parole or probation forbidding departure from the United States (or the jurisdiction of the court), or a request for extradition. The HHS child support database and the Marshals Service WIN database are checked automatically for entitlement to a passport. Denial or revocation of a passport does not prevent the use of outstanding valid passports.
The passport is not taken away unless ordered by a judge and the original passport is still valid until it expires.
Revocations are coordinated with the Department of Justice and the requesting agency. A passport will not be revoked when the whereabouts of the bearer is unknown. When there is a passport “hit” on an individual within the United States, based on the request, the interested law enforcement agency will be informed of the person’s address so that an arrest can be made. As long as it is JUST civil there is no problem.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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calipro says on Sep 23, 2005, 19:30:

Gator (Hiding assets in a bankruptcy is a crime-not civil),)

It might as well not even be a crime if someone isn{t going to even bother accusing the guy of hiding assets let alone get off their lazy government asses and find the Swiss bank account.

The way I look at it is... First someone has to accuse you of a crime or at least suspect you of wrong doing. Secondly the state has to find some proof of wrong doing. Then they can at least charge you with a crime and probably take away your passport.

It appears to me that the U.S. hasn{t even gotten to square one with this guy (he hasn{t even been accused of a crime). Maybe they are to busy looking for terrorists or something.

The jist of my original question is doesn{t the U.S. government have access to foreign banking records and can they seize property in another country. It appears that they can{t.

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stripes says on Sep 23, 2005, 20:16:

Gator hit it on the head... Basically, his passport will be valid for up to 10 years. If he goes and tries to renew it, he won't be able to. He might be able to get a nice one trip passport, free of charge. Of course, he would be met in Miami by some nice guys with badges.

As to the gist of your question, the US government probably has no means to check his Colombian bank records. It's probably not worth it for them to do anything about it unless the guy sticks up his head. The US and Colombian governments are quite close, though, so it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that someone from the US could point out to DAS that something's amiss...

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calipro says on Sep 23, 2005, 20:32:

stripes I have no idea if no what grounds they would refuse to renew his passport seeing how the guy has not even been accused let a lone charged with a crime.

I guess anything is posible. But at the rate the U.S. is moving I suspect the statue of limitations will have expired and the guy will have writen a book and be collecting royalities by the U.S. ever figures out what happened.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 23, 2005, 21:07:

Swiss Bank account What sort of bobo hides money in Switzerland any more? And you have to assume that assets in Colombia are totally visible to the US government, though their cooperation with the Colombian authorities?

Doesn't your friend know about Panama and the Caymans?

Clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed.

BTW, I suspect you're right, Calipro, that the US State Department and immigration have NO interest in his civil judgements and only would detain him if he was accused of a crime, which by your telling he hasn't been. Hell, OJ is still running all over the world after doing exactly the same thing in a much less discreet manner.

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Gator says on Sep 24, 2005, 07:26:

It's Kinda Like... extraditing someone from California to Florida on a $100 bad check warrant-it COULD be done but it probably won't. I would suspect, based upon the amount of money laundering and the extradition of Colombian drug dealers through U. S. Grand Jury action, bank records in Colombia are freely available to the government. Question is, is it worth it. The answer is likely NO, just like continuing this thread.

Really, the BEST answer would come from an ATORNEY he retains. If he is not worried then I am not worried.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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