Double standards related to wealth are everywhere you look. When a Medicaid-eligible teenager wears risqué clothes and uses foul language, she is trashy, but when a daughter of the one percent does it, she is being edgy. When someone who dropped out of high school reads her horoscope, she is superstitious, but when someone with a master’s degree does it, she is spiritual. Likewise, when people who work for a living keep their money in places other than bank accounts, they are being shady. That stash of cash in your house could lead police to suspect you of everything from tax evasion to drug trafficking, depending on whether the amount is consistent with failure to declare your cash tips on your tax returns or acting as a money mule for fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills that cross the border into Texas.
No one bats an eye when rich people are not forthcoming about how much money they have or where they got it. Stashing your money in a trust isn’t always tax evasion, especially when you are doing it on the advice of an estate planning lawyer. It is almost too easy to keep other people from finding out that a trust exists, and therefore, it is almost too easy to use it for money laundering. If police want to question you about a trust with which you are associated, contact a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
Trusts Are the Perfect Storm for Money Laundering
A trust is a popular way of legally dissociating yourself from your property. Estate planning lawyers often advise seniors to set up trusts to keep the trust assets out of probate because this makes it faster and cheaper for the heirs to receive their inheritance. When the grantor of the trust (the person who establishes it) transfers assets to the trust, they no longer legally belong to the grantor. The party that has control over them is the trustee; as a fiduciary, the trustee is legally required to follow the instructions in the trust instrument written by the grantor. Sometimes, the trustee is a family member of a grantor, but more often, it is a type of company known as a trust services provider (TSP).
Trusts can receive income from many sources and make payments to beneficiaries, and no one knows the details but the grantor and the trustee. Sometimes, multiple corporations are involved. If you work for one of these corporations, you may or may not know that some of its operations are shady. You have the right to representation by a criminal defense lawyer if your employer is under investigation and you are worried that you could face criminal charges. Your lawyer can give you advice about complying with the law during the investigation and protecting yourself from criminal prosecution.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for alleged financial crimes at your place of employment. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.