October 25, 2012
Recently captured Medina developer Michael Mastro and his wife have been indicted on 43 counts related to a bankruptcy fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle reports.
Returning the indictment Friday, the grand jury charged Mastro, 87, and his 62-year-old wife, Linda, with multiple counts of money laundering and fraud, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. The Mastros had been on the run until earlier this week, when they were arrested in France.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Mastros are alleged to have engaged in a series of frauds through which they funded a lavish lifestyle.
The Mastros collected diamond rings, valuable art and furnishings, and bought a $15 million home in Medina. But the real estate market crash left them in financial peril, and, prosecutors contend, they responded by hiding their assets from creditors.
In October 2008, the couple set up a trust in Belize and a series of limited liability corporations that were “owned” by that trust, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. The couple transferred assets such as the diamond rings, their Rolls Royce car and their Medina home to the corporations owned by the trust.
When the Mastros were forced into bankruptcy in 2009, they failed to disclose a bank account associated with the corporations and then pulled $761,000 from that account, according to prosecutors.
That money went to pay down an American Express credit card and car loans for a 2006 Range Rover, a 2007 Bentley Continental and a 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe, according to prosecutors. It also was used to make a bulk purchase of gold coins and pay other expenses.
More broadly, the Mastros are accused of lying during bankruptcy proceedings in an effort to conceal other luxury assets – a wine collection, a Steinway piano, a 16-carat diamond ring, a 28-carat diamond ring and Chihuly glass artwork stored in Palm Desert, Calif.
The couple was arrested Wednesday in France on a warrant based on a criminal complaint. They’d been on the run for 18 months.
“Those who flaunt the law and ignore our legal process will be held to account,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes said in a statement. “Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of law enforcement both here and abroad, the Mastros have been arrested and will face the charges that the Grand Jury returned in their indictment today.”
Steven M. Dean, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Division, thanked the French Police Judiciare for helping to find and arrest the Mastros.
The investigation into the Mastros' conduct has spread to others close to them, including Winston Bontrager, a Bellevue developer who is currently facing fraud charges alongside his girlfriend, Pauline Anderson.
Both Mastros remain in France pending extradition to the United States.
BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Recently captured Medina developer Michael Mastro and his wife have been indicted on 43 counts related to a bankruptcy fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle reports.
Returning the indictment Friday, the grand jury charged Mastro, 87, and his 62-year-old wife, Linda, with multiple counts of money laundering and fraud, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. The Mastros had been on the run until earlier this week, when they were arrested in France.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Mastros are alleged to have engaged in a series of frauds through which they funded a lavish lifestyle.
The Mastros collected diamond rings, valuable art and furnishings, and bought a $15 million home in Medina. But the real estate market crash left them in financial peril, and, prosecutors contend, they responded by hiding their assets from creditors.
In October 2008, the couple set up a trust in Belize and a series of limited liability corporations that were “owned” by that trust, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. The couple transferred assets such as the diamond rings, their Rolls Royce car and their Medina home to the corporations owned by the trust.
When the Mastros were forced into bankruptcy in 2009, they failed to disclose a bank account associated with the corporations and then pulled $761,000 from that account, according to prosecutors.
That money went to pay down an American Express credit card and car loans for a 2006 Range Rover, a 2007 Bentley Continental and a 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe, according to prosecutors. It also was used to make a bulk purchase of gold coins and pay other expenses.
More broadly, the Mastros are accused of lying during bankruptcy proceedings in an effort to conceal other luxury assets – a wine collection, a Steinway piano, a 16-carat diamond ring, a 28-carat diamond ring and Chihuly glass artwork stored in Palm Desert, Calif.
The couple was arrested Wednesday in France on a warrant based on a criminal complaint. They’d been on the run for 18 months.
“Those who flaunt the law and ignore our legal process will be held to account,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes said in a statement. “Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of law enforcement both here and abroad, the Mastros have been arrested and will face the charges that the Grand Jury returned in their indictment today.”
Steven M. Dean, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Division, thanked the French Police Judiciare for helping to find and arrest the Mastros.
The investigation into the Mastros' conduct has spread to others close to them, including Winston Bontrager, a Bellevue developer who is currently facing fraud charges alongside his girlfriend, Pauline Anderson.
Both Mastros remain in France pending extradition to the United States.
BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
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