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Article
Domestic asset tracing: Identifying, locating and freezing stolen and hidden assets.
USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
  • Carl J. Pacini
  • William Hopwood
  • Debra T. Sinclair
SelectedWorks Author Profiles:

Carl J. Pacini

Debra Sinclair

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Disciplines
Abstract

The rate of recovery of stolen and hidden assets from fraud and other schemes is low. This paper explores two steps of the investigative sequence in pursuing domestic (onshore) asset recovery when the objective is to recover specific assets (or their equivalent value) lost to fraud or hidden for some other purpose: asset identification and location (tracing) and asset freezing. Before pursuing asset tracing and freezing, an attorney, a forensic accountant, and a client must consider various factors, including the cost and likelihood of recovery, as well as whether there are third parties (e.g., banks, lawyers, and accountants) from whom recovery may be sought. It is necessary to obtain certain basic identifying information for any suspect or target, as well as their associates, relatives, and friends. This information can be gleaned from electronic databases, surveillance, covert operations, interviews, and other sources. This article also covers the places where assets can be hidden, as well as the various asset freezing measures available in the U.S., such as attachment, replevin, garnishment, lis pendens, and injunctions. Numerous useful websites and databases are noted throughout the paper (a list is available as a downloadable Word document, see Appendix A). The article concludes with an analysis of the importance of protecting the attorney-client privilege for a non-testifying forensic accountant.

Comments

Citation only. Full-text article is available through licensed access provided by the publisher. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.

Publisher
American Accounting Association
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Citation Information
Pacini, C. J., Hopwood, W. S., & Sinclair, D. T. (2016). Domestic asset tracing: Identifying, locating and freezing stolen and hidden assets. Journal of Forensic Accounting Research, 1(1), A42-A65. doi: 10.2308/jfar-51549