2305
Forfeiture of Assets Transferred to an Attorney in a
Fraudulent or Sham Transaction
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Forfeiture of an asset transferred to an attorney as fees for legal
services may be pursued where there are reasonable grounds to believe the
transfer was a fraudulent or sham transaction designed to shield from
forfeiture
assets which otherwise are forfeitable.
The mere fact that an attorney has received a forfeitable asset as
payment
for legal fees by itself does not provide reasonable grounds to believe the
transfer was a fraudulent or sham transaction. There must be reasonable
cause
to believe the asset was transferred for the purpose of impeding or
defeating the
government's ability to forfeit it. Generally, there should be some proof
that
a scheme existed to maintain the client's interest in the asset or ability
to use
it to his/her benefit. This may be shown, for example, by proof that the
value
of services actually rendered was disproportionately low compared to the
value
of the asset transferred and that there was agreement by the attorney to
transfer
the asset or some portion of it back to the client. In other situations
there
may be evidence that the attorney agreed to transfer the asset to another
third
party for the benefit of the client or to an account or corporation that is
controlled by the client. The evidence, however, need not establish that
the
attorney was a participant in the criminal activity giving rise to the
forfeiture
or that he/she otherwise violated any law.
[cited in USAM 9-119.202] | |