Why should you work with a qualified legal, financial, tax, banking, or investment professional?

This is why. Qualified licensed professionals are committed individuals of integrity who aspire to provide the very best advice and service to their clients. They routinely submit themselves to many hours of costly continuing education exams to not only maintain but improve service excellence in their chosen fields. They choose to operate with objectivity and transparency. They willingly subject themselves to ethics and compliance monitoring by governing boards composed of their peers. They intercede and guide their clients through the legal, tax, banking, and investing maze for ultimate satisfactory results. They conduct themselves with one common credo: to care for their clients before all else

Licensed professionals in all fields are guided by, monitored by, disciplined by, and terminated from their respective governing bodies if we incur fractions against the rules, regulations and codes that we have voluntarily agreed to adhere to when accepting a license to practice. Almost without exception, licensed qualified professionals are respected members of our community.

Right, so you think, now that I have flagrantly promoted myself and every other professional out there, what is the point here?

As you shall see, there are some rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel.

Clients often complain vehemently about the amount of paperwork now required to open a banking or investment account, set up a trust, and other cumbersome financial activities. What is not understood is, that there is a real cause and effect for these procedures ? designed for your protection.

Scrolling through the United States Internal Revenue Website, I am sad to say this is what I found posted this week alone! Many of these degenerates were licensed professionals, now they are convicted felons. It is no coincidence that they concealed their gains in offshore accounts.

Their acts against unsuspecting trusting investors are particularly heinous because they knew exactly what they were doing. Certainly, they betrayed the professions (and the true professionals) that supported them.

On December 20, 2005, in Salt Lake City, Utah, for their role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States through the establishment of an abusive trust scheme involving offshore entities marketed through the name of Anglo-American International. Tax loss to the US government - $1.8 million in unpaid taxes. Sentenced to prison were:

4.3 Years ? Ozy Jay Neeley, a lawyer

3.8 years - Paul J. Young, a lawyer;

3.5 years - Robert Dodenbier, a lawyer, received 41 months;

4.3 years - Chad L. Merica, a certified public accountant.

The leader, Kirk Koskella is currently serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison ? additional punishment to pay ? $15 million in restitution.

Gary Kuzel, a certified public accountant in the Anderson's Ark & Associates (AAA) case ? 24 months in prison. Tax loss caused by the filing of the false income tax returns was between $2.5 million and $5 million

Many Bermudians will remember the Global Prosperity scam with great regret. Anonymous sources have told me that they, and friends and acquaintances, lost thousands investing with the Global Prosperity group. It is probably not much consolation (nor will it bring your investment back) to know that these crooks are bedding down in small concrete cells for a very long time.

On December 15, 2005, in Seattle, WA, Lorenzo Lamantia (aka Lorenzo Milano) and his common-law wife, Kuldip Singh (aka Kay Singh and Kay Milano), a co-founder of the Institute of Global Prosperity, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by using bogus trusts, nominee entities, and offshore bank accounts to conceal millions of dollars in income generated from the sale of Global Prosperity products. Tax loss ? $2.5 million to $5 million to the United States Treasury.

Kay Singh operated a business named International Free Enterprise Associates (IFEA), which offered retail and marketing information to Global Prosperity members for an annual fee of $125 each. Hiding revenue offshore ? cost to the US Treasury $1.47 million.

And it gets worse; a judge, no less, a professional charged with upholding the law, helped the Lamantias with the Global Prosperity scam. The judge profited greatly, but lost his honour.

On December 5, 2005, in Phoenix, Arizona, John J. Rizzo, a municipal court judge, and his wife, Carol, were sentenced to 43 months and 24 months in prison, respectively.

The Judge was a prominent speaker at offshore seminars hosted by the Institute of Global Prosperity, promoting the Millennium 2000 Reliance Defence Programme (a tax evasion programme) to thousands of people. He earned more than $4 million in sales revenue, then he and his wide concealed this income through offshore bank accounts, third-party merchant accounts to process credit card sales, requested payments from customers in cash, money orders, and cheques with the payee lines left blank.

Daniel Leveto, a veterinarian was sentenced to 46 months in prison for income tax evasion and concealing funds in bank accounts in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Grand Cayman, and Channel Islands. Tax loss to the United States ? between $325,000 and $500,000.

In NC, Albert Esposito was sentenced to for defrauding more than 700 investors of at least $27 million dollars - by mail, wire fraud and money laundering. The scheme involved numerous entities including Rahab Trust and Management Company, Intrinsiks LLC, The Laurels Spa & Resort, LLC, Angel Wing Aviation, LLC, Business Broadband, Inc., Ruach Hakodesh Foundational Ministries, Summit Investments, Capital Investing, Premier Financial Services, Secured Futures, Virtual Consulting LLC, USTEC Equities Fund, and Cheetah Management, all totally fraudulent businesses.

Remember, these are the bottom feeders of society. Fortunately, most professionals are honourable people of integrity. The real thing!