Paul Manafort Sells Florida Mansion To His Wife For The Price Of Two Lattes

[Roland99]

Paul Manafort Sells Florida Mansion To His Wife For The Price Of Two Lattes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenhowley/2018/11/29/manafort-sells-florida-house-to-wife/amp/

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, signed a deed on Oct. 25 in his Virginia prison that transferred his five-bedroom mansion in Florida’s Palm Beach Gardens to his wife for $10. The document, witnessed by two members of his legal team and stamped with the seal of a Virginia notary, was filed five days later with the Palm Beach County Clerk.


...

Lawyers working for Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election told a federal judge on Monday that Manafort had “breached the plea agreement” he made in September by lying to them repeatedly. The court filing included a rebuttal from Manafort’s defense team saying, “He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization.”

...

Transferring the property to his wife may not put it beyond the reach of federal prosecutors, said David Pelligrinelli, an expert in real estate transactions. If Mueller’s team doesn’t like it, they could attempt to void the deed, Pelligrinelli said.

“This is a conveyance that’s not arm’s length — in other words, it’s to a relative — and the deed does not indicate full-value consideration, so they could try to claw it back if they wanted to,” said Pelligrinelli, founder of AFX Corp., a title search company, and president of Active Intel Investigations LLC in Palm Beach, Florida.

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R for exposure.

[eleny]

2. Sounds like he understands that his goose is cooked

[Gothmog]

3. This is a fraudulent conveyance and can be set aside easily

[TomSlick]

13. Exactly.

[PeeJ52]

4. Taking care of his family was part of the plea agreement...

Manafort decided tRump was more important than his family. Void... Donate to the people of Florida.

[gratuitous]

5. Hmmm

I'll take Pelligrinelli's word for it, though I know that property and bankruptcy law in Florida is a province all to itself. A lot of rich folks buy mansions in Florida as a partial bulwark against creditors and their pesky judgments.

[Pepsidog]

14. I believe Fla is a Homestead State which protects a home from creditors in bankruptcy. I doubt it

would work in a civil forfeiture action based on a criminal conviction. Now if wife claims bankruptcy and claims the house as exempt from creditors under Fla. state Homestead Law then maybe worth a shot but I doubt it would work. Manafort is certainly a slimy pice of shit. I think he is more afraid of what the Russians will do to do his family. Why else would be blow up his cooperation agreement?

[pnwmom]

6. Deeds usually state some nominal amount like that. In the states where I've lived

they don't show an actual sales price. They'll say something like, "for ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration."

[Pepsidog]

15. Especially when conveyed to family members.

[C_U_L8R]

7. That's actually a big gift... did she pay tax on it?

[OnDoutside]

9. Surely there's no tax issue in a transfer from a husband to a wife ?

[Doreen]

8. There is no way in hell she did not know why he was selling it to her so would that not make her an

accomplice? What are the laws like in Florida regarding communal property? I think if that was done in Washington state that sell would not have done any good. I am probably wrong but this just seems wrong somewhere.

[voteearlyvoteoften]

10. If property has homestead designation in Fl I believe it is safe nt

[Flaleftist]

11. I think that is more of a debt thing.

If the home could be proved to have been paid for with illegally earned funds, it could be different.

[Pepsidog]

16. Fla & Texas Homestead states for protection against creditors but civil forfeiture based on criminal

conviction I’m not so sure. Maybe

[Blue_true]

12. That is rather hamfisted of him.

If he wanted to keep the house or money from selling it from the Feds, he should have burned it down.

[XRubicon]

17. Palm Beach Gardens - mansion?

Forgot the Mc.

[Adrahil]

18. Tax liability?

If the house was sold significantly below market value, would that not be considered a taxable gift?

[Roland99]

19. UPDATE - Mansion Still At Risk. Feds can still seize!!

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20181204/end-to-manafort-plea-deal-could-put-palm-beach-gardens-home-at-risk

Also in the plea deal, Manafort agreed to forfeit his $22 million real estate portfolio. The 5,231-square-foot home in BallenIsles — legally the couple’s homestead — was the only property in Manafort’s property holdings that prosecutors had agreed not to seize.

With that promise, Manafort went a step further to protect his wife’s interest and took his name off the deed on Oct. 30 — leaving her the sole owner of the homesteaded residence.

But that move and the homestead exemption now may not be enough to keep prosecutors from seizing the home, experts say. Although Florida has some of the strongest safeguards for homeowners, property — including those with homesteads — can be seized if the government can prove it was purchased with the proceeds of a crime.

“If the government can show the property was purchased from illegal activity, then the government can go against the property,” said attorney Frank Rubino, a Miami, criminal defense lawyer who specializes in federal white-collar cases. “The homestead (exemption) is not protection.”