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5. Concealment of Income or Assets
Concealing income or assets is indicative of fraud.
Bradford v. Commissioner, 796 F.2d 303 (9th Cir. 1986). Mr. Ford
admitted under oath that he “secreted” securities belonging to
him “in accounts in the name of my son and others.” Further
examination by respondent uncovered money hidden in Canadian
brokerage accounts which respondent determined belonged to
petitioners. Ms. Ford played a critical role in Mr. Ford’s
concealment of assets, taking sole title to their Montecito home
and to their Rolls-Royce. She also was listed as the owner of
several of the nominee corporations at issue, and she owned in
her own name many investments, including shares of International
Tillex. Had these assets been owned by Mr. Ford, he would have
been unable to represent to the SEC that he owned no stocks or
bonds, that he had gross income of $16,000 in 1985, that he had a
net worth of negative $560,000 throughout 1985 and 1986, and that
he was unemployed and trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
On the basis of Mr. Ford’s own testimony and upon the
evidence before the Court, the Court concludes that petitioners
concealed assets from the SEC and from respondent.
Ms. Ford played a sophisticated role in petitioners’
concealment of assets; she was not financially naive. Her
testimony to the contrary is flatly contradicted by all the
evidence before this Court. In 1986, she was a business partner
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